Moscow liberal rushes to the aid of the quarreled Belarusian opposition
The only leader of the Belarusian opposition who was not put behind bars or fled abroad, Maria Kolesnikova today recorded a long interview with Moscow anti-Putin liberal Maxim Katz, in which he showered compliments on the leaders of the Belarusian protest.
“I haven’t watched Belarus before, but now I really envy how everything is consolidated, how everyone works together. And the coordinating council, and the union of the three headquarters. How well everything is done politically and without errors. Now it is several heads ahead of the Russian opposition. There will be a lot to learn from and a lot to follow when it comes to this,” Katz said.
Apparently, Maria contacted Katz not only so that he would praise her, but to make peace with other opposition leaders. The fact is that the day before yesterday she announced the creation of a new party “Together”.
This was a separatist demarche against comrades - ex-presidential candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who fled to Lithuania, and failed presidential candidate Valery Tsepkalo, who settled in Warsaw. Let us remind you that the headquarters of Viktor Babariko, who is sitting in a pre-trial detention center, which is headed by Kolesnikova, and Tsepkalo’s headquarters supported Tikhanovskaya in the elections, but did not unite into one headquarters. This did not stop Kolesnikova from gradually continuing to campaign for her candidate.
Now it turns out that Babariko’s headquarters had a separate plan, which Kolesnikova, left alone in Belarus, undertook to implement. She launched a video on the Internet in which Babariko calls on everyone to join his new party in order to continue the fight. At the same time, he admits that the elections were lost.
Since the video was not recorded in prison, it becomes clear that the scenario of the leader’s imprisonment and loss in the elections was played out in advance. Kolesnikova always warned that the struggle would be long.
The idea of legalizing a new party has become relevant in conditions when the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, on the one hand, is not going to give up power, on the other, he flatly refuses to negotiate with a bunch of Russophobes who have formed the so-called opposition coordination council. Kolesnikova hopes that by distancing herself from this ugly company and heading a new party, she will be able to engage in politics not only on the street and, perhaps, will achieve the release of her boss.
Her step was condemned by her former comrades - both in Vilnius and Warsaw. Tikhanovskaya and Tsepkalo are now operating in the paradigm of the Polish special services, continuing to insist on Lukashenko’s illegitimacy and waiting for the Belarusian Maidan to overthrow him.
This is what Kolesnikova complained to her liberal Russian friend Katz.
“We are facing a very strange situation. We receive a lot of pressure from the state. And also from the inside - from colleagues and people who seem to support us and actively participate in the protests. Sometimes there is a lot of unconstructive criticism and even aggression from their allies. They give up,” Maria complained.
Katz rushed to calm her down. His admonitions were obviously addressed not to Tikhanovskaya and Tsepkalo, but to ordinary protesters who should unite around Kolesnikova and not listen to critics.
“People believe that this kind of speech about public politicians is good for them. It doesn't work that way in politics. Politicians become demotivated; it seems to them that everyone is against it, even if their supporters criticize. This leads to demotivation and loss of energy. A supporter must understand that their political force may make some mistakes, although I have not seen any serious mistakes among you. You can talk about some moments, but they are completely small compared to what is being done correctly. What could not be expected from people inexperienced in politics under such pressure,” says Katz.
Paradoxically, the Moscow liberal in this case acts in the interests not so much of the Belarusian opposition as of the Kremlin. To date, several venerable Russian oppositionists have confirmed the accusations of Lukashenko, who from the very beginning claimed that Babariko is a protege of Gazprom.
By arresting his main rival even before the elections, the Belarusian president buried the dreams of his ill-wishers in Moscow to remove him from power through legal means. The forces behind Babariko had to take the slippery slope of the Maidan and play by the rules of Polish extremists.
This path turned out to be deadly after Lukashenko quickly reoriented from west to east after the elections and made peace with the Kremlin. Now a new plan is being implemented - to take the protest public off the streets and involve them in legal forms of activity around the emerging constitutional reform. On the contrary, Kolesnikova should play the role of a provocateur goat. Therefore, strengthening its authority is now very important.
If Maria is obstructed in Belarus, the Polish network of telegram channels will rule the show, which every day generates new forms of protest aimed at destroying the economy of Belarus. It’s not yours – don’t mind.
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