Putin’s latest move: creation of puppet government in exile, - Newsweek

It appears that Russian President Vladimir Putin is losing the war in Ukraine.Gone are the talks about seizing so-called Novorossiya—the strip of land from Kharkiv to Odessa—and establishing a land bridge to occupied Crimea.  Even though recent developments suggest a possible offensive to expand the territory Russia and its proxies now hold, perhaps with a push to Mariupol, the Kremlin knows that such a move would trigger tougher sanctions against Russia's already failing economy. Putin's main problem is that he needs to keep acting.

Censor.NET reports citing the opinion of Aaron Korewa, the former political adviser to Carl Bildt, former foreign minister of Sweden, published in Newsweek, in which he reminded that Putin didn't invade Ukraine because he feared for the rights of its Russian-speakers. Rather, it was a diversion from problems at home. He expected a walk in the park when he returned as president in 2012. Instead, he encountered the largest anti-government demonstrations since the fall of the Soviet Union. Nothing terrifies Putin more than popular protests. As a KGB-agent in Dresden, he saw firsthand how East Germans toppled the oppressive system he had dedicated his life to preserve. What if Ukraine's Euromaidan had inspired Russians to do likewise?

When the Ukrainian people clearly said no to attempts by former President Viktor Yanukovych to impose Russian-style "managed democracy"-that is, no democracy at all-Putin had to discredit them. Hence the claim of "fascists," which to anyone familiar with Soviet Newspeak simply means "someone who opposes the will of the Kremlin."

The mythology of Russia's "heroic struggle against fascism" is one of the few things people living in post-Soviet times feel truly proud of, and protecting Russians in Ukraine and "recapturing" Crimea was the perfect way to distract Russians from the increasingly authoritarian nature of their own government.

The problem with this strategy is that one needs to constantly be on the offensive in order to keep people's attention. That's easier said than done when the Ukrainians are prepared to fight, sanctions are biting and oil prices are falling.

So what to do? Enter Mykola Azarov, Ukraine's last prime minister under Yanukovych. On August 3, Azarov-now living in exile in Moscow-formed the "Ukraine Salvation Committee," whose goal is "regime change" back home. Azarov is wanted in Ukraine for several crimes, including embezzlement and abuse of power.

The committee's president is Vladimir Oleynik, a former pro-Russian member of Parliament, who helped draft the infamous 2014 "dictatorship laws" granting Yanukovych vast powers to squash the Euromaidan. Another member is Oleg Tsarev, one of the first people to propose the Novorossiya project and former speaker of the so-called Parliament of Novorossiya.

Yet another interesting character behind the committee is Igor Markov,recently arrested in Italy by Interpol at the request of the Ukrainian government for his role in organizing an assault on a protester against the installation of a monument to the Russian Empress Catherine the Great in Odessa in 2007. Without a hint of irony, Putin's international propaganda channel RT accused Kiev of going after "a dissident politician."

The timing of the formation of the Ukraine Salvation Committee makes perfect sense. Putin needs to make a new move, and now he has a fully-fledged Ukrainian puppet government-in-exile that could lay claim to the entire country. Russia may insist on including the committee in future peace talks.

It could organize the population of separatist-controlled territories, as well as Ukrainian refugees in Russia, who supposedly exceed 1 million, according to Russian media. Azarov says Ukraine's democratically elected government is a "puppet of the Americans" so he can be Putin's puppet, and in the spirit of Russian propaganda, claim that he is just representing "the other side of the story."

The Ukraine Salvation Committee bears an eerie resemblance to the Polish Committee for National Liberation, formed in Moscow in 1944 to help Stalin conquer Poland after World War II, with the help of Soviet collaborators. Instead of adding new territory to Russia, Putin can use it as a Trojan horse to make Ukraine virtually ungovernable.

The last thing the new committee would do is save Ukraine. But it might be useful as a wake-up call to the world. Putin's actions, far from being shocking or surprising, follow a pattern straight from the Soviet playbook, starting with his early accusations of the Euromaidan being a "fascist coup"-the same smear the Soviets used against pro-democracy movements in Eastern Europe.

Faced with setbacks, Putin tries a different way. Too bad for him it's all so obvious.

censor.net.ua In Russian


It becomes obvious that Russian President Vladimir Putin is losing the war against Ukraine. Talk about capturing the so-called "New Russia" for the overland route to the occupied Crimea in the past. Even the thought of a possible attack by the Russian army and terrorists in Mariupol is no longer relevant, because the Kremlin is afraid of strengthening sanctions against the already exhausted Russian economy. But the main problem of Putin is that he needs to continue to operate.


According Tsenzor.NET citing ZN.UA, about it on the pages of Newsweek writes advisor to former Minister for Foreign Affairs Carl Bildt Aaron measles, recalling that the Russian President did not bring the Ukraine because of the alleged experiences of rights of Russian-speaking residents of her. Rather, it was a campaign to prevent problems at home. In 2012, Putin was waiting for his return to the presidency will be greeted with applause. Instead, thousands of people took to the streets. It was the most massive protests in Moscow since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Nothing scares a former KGB agent, as the mass protests, with whom he first met in Dresden in the days of the GDR.

Ukraine's Foreign Ministry canceled the diplomatic passports 89 former officials, including Azarov, German and Tsarevo.

LIST: 1. Sergey Averchenko 2. Azarov Mykola Azarov 3. Azarov Alexey 4. Arkallaev Nurulislam Gadzhievich 5. Badaev Ruslan G. 6. Berezhnaya Irina G. 7. Bohdan Ruslan D. 8. Boyko Vladimir Semenovich 9. Board Vitaly 10. Sergey Buryak 11. Bushko Ivan Ivanovich 12. Vassiliev Gennady Zyuganov 13. Oleg Ivanovich the gel 14. Gerasimchuk Mikhail Ivanovich 15. German Anna Nikolaevna 16. Horowitz Edward I. 17. Vitaly Danilov Bogdanovic 18. Boris Deich Dyvydovich 19. Demishkan Vladimir Fedorovich 20. Demianko Nikolai Ivanovich 21. Alexander Doni 22. Alexander Egorov 23. Unit Alexander I. 24. Alexander Efremov 25. Zherebnyuk Viktor 26. Szasz Alexander 27. Ivanyushchenko Yuri 28. Ilyk Roman Romanovich 29. Oksana Kaletnik 30. Vitaly A. Kalyuzhny 31. Kovacs Vasily I. 32. Kolesnikov Boris V. 33. Korzh Pavel Petrovich 34. Alexander Korneichuk 35. Krivetsky Igor I. 36. Crook Yuri 37. Alexander Kuzmuk 38. Kunchenko Alexei Petrovich 39. Cupcake Vladimir Romanovich 40. Kurennoj Vladimir K. 41. Kurpil Stepan 42. Labunskaya Angelica V. 43. Lavrynovych Alexander 44. Lebedev Paul V. 45. Nikolai Levchenko 46. Lelyuk Alexey 47. Vladislav V. Lukianov 48. Makeyenko Vladimir Vladimirovich 49. Macul Leonid Y. 50. Malyshev Vladimir S. 51. Markov Igor O. 52. Medyanik Vladimir Y. 53. Evgeny Miller 54. Mirimsky Leo Y. 55. Miroshnichenko Igor M. 56. Mishchenko Andrei 57. Mohnik Alexander 58. Alexander B. Lobe 59. Moshak Sergey 60. Mkhitaryan Nver Mnatsakanovich 61. Odarchenko Yuri V. 62. Vladimir Oleynik 63. Valery Omelchenko 64. Opanaschenko Mikhail 65. Orobets Les Y. 66. Pylypenko Vladimir Filippovich 67. Pinchuk Andrey Pavlovich 68. Polyakov Vasily Leonidovich 69. Prasolov Igor 70. Artem Pshonka 71. Igor Rybakov 72. Nikolai Rudkovsky 73. The balance of Vladimir 74. Sirotyuk Oleg Miroslavovich 75. Olga Sikora Miroslavovna 76. Smityukh Gregory Antonovich 77. Soloshenko Nicholas P. 78. Forty Nikolai 79. Struk Vladimir 80. Stupak Ivan Ivanovich 81. Viktor Tikhonov 82. Sergey V. Topalov 83. Fedoryak Gennady Dmitrievich 84. Fishchuk Alexander G. 85. Oleg Tsarev 86. Tsybenko Peter S. 87. Vitaliy Chudnovsky O. 88. Schweich Igor 89. Artem Shcherban

When the people in Kiev on Independence removed the regime of Viktor Yanukovych for trying to establish a so-called "controlled democracy" in the style of Russia, which is really not democracy, Putin has tried to discredit the Ukrainian protests. He came up with Kiev "fascists", which translated from the Russian authorities a special language means "those who are against the wishes of the Kremlin." Mythology about the Russian "historic struggle against fascism" has become one of the few things for Russians in the post-Soviet times, they are proud of. Protection of Russian in Ukraine and the "accession" of the Crimea became an ideal way to distract Russians from their own authoritarian nature of the government. The only problem is that you need to constantly come up with new threats, so that people were in a state of anxiety. And it turned out that in the case of Ukraine, this is easier said than done, as the Ukrainians were ready to fight, but oil prices and hurt western sanctions hit the economy.

So what to do? And here comes into play, Mykola Azarov - the last prime minister of the regime of Yanukovych. Third of August in Moscow, where he now lives, he announced the establishment of "Rescue Committee of Ukraine", which aims to "change the regime" at home. In Ukraine, Azarov wanted for several crimes, including usurpation of power and misappropriation of public funds. Among the other members of the committee: the former pro-Russian MP and author of "dictatorial laws," which allowed Crush euromaidan, Vladimir Oliynyk, the self-proclaimed leader of the so-called "New Russia" Oleg Tsarev and no less interesting and the accused in the attack on demonstrators in Odessa, Igor Markov, who was recently arrested in Italy. This may seem like a joke, but the Russian propaganda calls these people "dissidents."

Time to create such a "Committee" perfect. Since Putin has to take a new step. A puppet government in exile, which will apply for control over Ukraine, it is very suitable. It is not excluded that the Kremlin starts to insist on the participation of controlled rogue in peace talks with Kiev. They can also integrate refugees who Wihan of Donbass in Russian, as well as the inhabitants of the occupied territories. Azarov calls the democratically elected government in Kiev "American puppet", so it can be a puppet of Putin, declaring with the help of Russian propaganda, which is the other side of the conflict. So-called "Committee for the Liberation of Ukraine" an awful lot like the Polish Committee of National Freedom, which was formed in Moscow in 1944 and helped Stalin to conquer Poland in World War II. Instead of occupying the whole of Ukraine, Putin can send "Trojan horse" to make it incompetent. "The Committee" is not exactly going to save Ukraine. But it should be an alarm clock for the world. Putin's hardly surprising, since it is fully committed to our strategy of the USSR, since the announcement of activists euromaidan "fascists." This is the Soviet government did when in Eastern Europe were democratic movements. Putin is trying to pick up a new strategy, but it is very noticeable.

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