Putin’s Russia not in Armenia’s interests – Russian oppositionist

The recent parliamentary election in Russia heralds dim prospects for the country, according to Slava Rabinovich, a prominent Russian financier and a strong opponent of President Vladimir Putin.

In an interview with Tert.am, Rabinovich, who heads the firm Diamond Age Capital Advisors, described the post-electoral Russia as a “boiling caldron on the verge of explosion”. He also warned of possible hazards to Armenia.

Russia held election to the State Duma, which saw President Vladimir Putin’s party, “Yedinaya Rossiya” (United Russia), win a majority yet another time. Are any changes expected for citizens of Russia?

I think that Putin and his criminal team, which stick to tyrant methods to maintain power, keep boiling the cauldron which is warm as it is; they firmly hold its lid to prevent it from exploding. But the policy of lifting the lid at times to release steam no longer works. The Russian authorities are so much detached from the reality that they do not even see that the boiling mass is too much to let the cauldron go off even in case of releasing the steam.  That poses danger to not only those who hold the lid or stay boiling inside but also to the people who are outside it, be it though at a distance. The debris will inflict damage on them too.

This election demonstrated how fragile Russia’s future is. You can see see the records at the Russian Central Electoral Commission, which practically testify to election rigging …

What is the expected impact on Armenia? Will the debris damage Armenia too?

Yes, it is in Armenia’s interests to maximum detach itself from Putin’s Russia within the shortest possible timeframes. Armenia may more and more plunge into poverty and chaos.

The pre-electoral campaign saw no political party give any promise  for the [local] Armenians even though the Armenian community is one of the biggest communities in Russia. What’s even more, there are no Armenians listed in any of the parties’ ballots. Is that a special policy?

I do not have any positive remark to add in this connection. As long as these authorities are in power, no [ethnic] minority in Russia (the Armenians included) will see any positive impact, with the ruling regime pursuing fascist policies … So I cannot say at all whether it is good or bad to have an Armenian lawmaker in a fascist parliament.

Do you predict post-electoral shocks?

 
More than 1 million people went from Russia over the past couple of years, with hundreds and thousands leaving the country annually. I think the Kremlin has made accurate calculations and knows who and when to kill.

Why don’t the efforts towards changing the government ever succeed? Are they insufficient or probably, the organizers are individuals not accepted [by the society]?

It is difficult to say the reason in a nutshell. The main problem has to do with the absence of a legal understanding on the civil level. The consciousness instilled in the society for decades urged them to resign themselves [to government control] in order to have progress, and to never resist. And that helped the authorities to violently hold on to power; they know how to manipulate the population.