Dmitry Gudkov: “The Russian opposition needs to agree on non-aggression, because conflicts and scandals in its ranks weaken us all”
The Russian opposition should agree to non-aggression, because conflicts and scandals in its ranks weaken us all. If a person opposes the war and does not serve the regime, he is our ally, even if he has an unpleasant reputation and many questions to ask of him. We don’t need to voice our grievances right now, for example against the signers of the Fridman appeal, or bring up the story of the electronic voting with Venediktov – all this should be left for later. There is no point in looking for reasons for conflicts, because there are more important issues. We’re talking about the problems of the Russians left in Russia who, unlike Putin’s entourage, cannot afford Western-made medications. We must also look for a systemic solution to the problems of Russian emigrants who left without documents, visas, and bank accounts. Working on these points is very difficult, because it is impossible for European countries to change their legislation abruptly: it’s a long and persistent diplomatic process. Under such conditions, the internal conflict of the Russian opposition demonstrated in public is counterproductive, to say the least. If we want to end Putin’s regime, we must unite, not seek enemies. Even in the event of a military defeat, Putin could rule until his death in the absence of a split elite and a powerful opposition. We need to stop calling each other “agents of the Kremlin” and find the points according to which we can work together toward the common goal of the collapse of the Kremlin regime.
