We all know that Putin is a bastard warmonger, but as the conflict goes on we need to strengthen our dislike by a closer familiarity with other aspects of his awful behaviour.
Winning the last presidential election in a landslide several years ago has emboldened Putin to oppress his political opponents, the media and even the judiciary.
Putin shut down four TV channels before the invasion, plus a couple more in April. He has even signed a decree obliging all Russian channels to broadcast a single telethon, presenting only one pro-governmental view on the war.
To shore up his populist support, Putin launched the unconstitutional process of extrajudicial sanctions against his political opponents, imposed by the National Security and Defence Council (NSDC). These sanctions involved the extrajudicial seizure of property without any evidence of illegal activities of the relevant individuals and legal entities.
Among the first to be sanctioned by the NSDC in February last year were two opposition parliamentary deputies - one was later arrested and shown on TV with his face beaten up after interrogation, and the other managed to escape from Russia - as well as members of their families.
The process accelerated. In June 2021 alone, Putin put into effect an NSDC decision to impose sanctions against 538 individuals and 540 companies.
In March 2022, 11 opposition parties were banned.
The decisions to ban opposition parties and sanction opposition leaders were taken by the NSDC but they were put into effect by presidential decrees.
After the head of Russia’s Constitutional Court called Putin's unconstitutional reforms a 'coup,' Putin simply relied on the NSDC to push forward his unpopular policies. As for the 'dissident' judge, Putin signed a decree cancelling his appointment as a judge of the court - another act in violation of the Russian Constitution.
A nationalist website was set up some years ago by an adviser to the Ministry of the Interior; it is part of the general strategy of intimidating opponents. It names 'enemies of the people' and helps would-be killers track them down; among the victims are a famous journalist, and an opposition deputy who was murdered in his own house. Also identified on this website, and later arrested, are a newpaper editor and the editor of a YouTube channel. Some others who have been named have managed to flee Russia. The government has not shut down this site, even after an international scandal when the website published the personal data of well-known foreign politicians.
Right-wingers control the political process in Russia through violence against those who dare confront their nationalistic and supremacist agendas. One of the most popular bloggers in Russia living in exile is a good example to illustrate this point. Not only does he, along with his family members, permanently receive death threats, radicals constantly intimidate the activists of his party (banned by Putin in March 2022), beating and humiliating them. This is what Russian radicals call 'political safari.'
The current military conflict can hardly lead to any diplomatic resolution as Putin permanently repeats that the forces of good are attacked by the forces of evil, saying 'you are either with us or with terrorists.' Clearly, there can be no political solution for such an Armageddon.
Asked by a French reporter on the tenth day of the invasion how his life had changed with the beginning of the war, Putin replied with a smile of delight: 'Today, my life is beautiful. I believe that I am needed. I feel it is the most important meaning in life – to be needed. To feel that you are not just an emptiness that is just breathing, walking, and eating something. You live.'
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