Here
in full, are comments from Vladimir Suchan (via Facebook):
"Khodorkovsky
and the West (the US) is following a tight script, which, for most
part, has already been written.
And, yes, it does feel like a movie
and also like a deja vue, for some of its parts do look much like
pieces taken out and adapted from the Maidan script for Ukraine
("pro-European choice," etc.).
*The
Guardian (a good place for helping out a fake imperial revolution)
writes:
"The
former tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky ... says he would be ready to lead
Russia ... Khodorkovsky’s statement [came] at the launch of an
online movement called Open Russia [did anyone say Soros?] ... “I
would not be interested in the idea of becoming president of Russia
at a time when the country would be developing normally,” he was
quoted as saying [of course, not, and these are not normal times for
sure] ... “But if it appeared necessary to overcome the crisis and
to carry out constitutional reform, the essence of which would be to
redistribute presidential powers in favour of the judiciary,
parliament and civil society, then I would be ready to take on this
part of the task.” [Khodorkovsky does know how to use irony--Lavrov
has been vocal in calling for some unspecified 'constitutional
reform" for Ukraine with the junta in charge; Khodorkovsky is
taking the meme from Lavrov and says that it is Russia that needs to
do that ... for the sake a regime change and its own Maidan]
Open
Russia is intended to unite pro-European Russians in a bid to
challenge Putin’s grip on power. “A minority will be influential
if it is organised,” Khodorkovsky said during a ceremony broadcast
online from Paris.
Khodorkovsky and his allies said political change
could come quickly and insisted the time had come to think of
Russia’s future after Putin. ... his project [is] named after his
charity that was shut down after his imprisonment [see it is all just
a charity work] ... Russian activists and prominent emigres including
Paris-based economist Sergei Guriyev and London-based businessman
Yevgeny Chichvarkin – both of whom fled the country under pressure
from security services – joined the online ceremony. ... The former
head of the defunct Yukos oil firm sakd all those supporting a
pro-European course for Russia should before parliamentary elections
scheduled for 2016. [most likely, they will strike sooner]
“We
support what they call the European choice or a state governed by the
rule of law,” he said. “We believe that the statement ‘Russia
is not Europe’ is a lie that is being imposed on society on
purpose. [recycling slogans from the Ukrainian Maidan] ... “We are
Europe, both in terms of geography and culture."
...
“It is time to open our mouths,” Chichvarkin said. [the phase of
direct mobilization for the Russian Maidan started] “We are ahead
of a long, hard and dangerous path,” the former deputy finance
minister and economist Sergei Aleksashenko said. Russian state media
appeared to enforce a blackout on news coverage of Khodorkovky’s
project."
When
statements like this appear, the automatic reaction of many is to say
something along the lines WTF and dismiss it. However, one needs to
consider that, in history and even in recent history (starting at
least from 1989), unlikely, marginal and even incredible figures and
events came to change the assumed givens. For that to happen, other
things (other chess moves) would, however, need to happen in
conjunction. The West has already invested quite a bit in
Khodorkovsky, and, however odious he is, the fact is that he is
intelligent and connected. His declarations should, therefore, be
read as partial chess moves and signs. But one needs to know how to
read the sign first before just dismissing it.
"In other words,
Khodorkovsky by himself and his declarations only don't mean much.
However, they are a sign of an unfolding program the other elements
of which are certainly coming and coming to emerge. I would say that
Khodorkovsky's best bet is making an appeal to a portion of the
current Russian political, economic, and cultural elite and the
oligarchs in order to split the establishment. In Ukraine (and also
in Eastern Europe in 1989) that's what happened. Moreover, both in
Ukraine during the Maidan and in Eastern Europe back in 1989, it was
not just a mere division and fragmentation of the elite that produced
the change. In Kiev, Yanukovich became isolated, betrayed, and
surrendered by most of the elite and the oligarchs, including his own
administration, the government, and the party, which, however, still
I don't think can happen in Russia to that extent. In 1989, most of
the elites with only few weak and irrelevant exceptions went over
from being pro-Russian communists or "communists" to being
pro-US and pro-NATO capitalists and oligarchs.
When
it comes to Russia, there are certainly some patriotic oligarchs, but
it does sound almost like an oxymoron. Many of them are certainly
"Westernized," cosmopolitan, and feel themselves to be part
of the new global elite, which does not care much about the people or
the country. Like Marx's proletarians, they have no country of their
own. But they have been busy buying off properties and palaces not
only in Miami, but also in London, in order to buy like the new
bourgeoisie recognition and titles, seating tickets at the tables of
the global elite.
Khodorkovsky
clearly tries to make his pitch chiefly to them--to the oligarchs ...
together with the Westernized, liberal middle class. I would then say
that both Khodorkovsky and the West are hoping for some palace coup
from above with the parts of the pro-Western middle class playing the
role of the "people" in order to make it look like a
democratic revolution. But as things stand, this would most likely
mean a civil war too.
In
all this, the critical factor is the security forces. The Maidan
would not have been possible without some significant usurpation of
these forces and their switch to the other side. The same was
required in 1989.
If
someone asked to take a guess where the core of the possible
oligarchic conspiracy is, I would produce the list of the people who
made up the World Economic Forum contact/oligarchic group for
Ukraine. It is very likely that the "peace plan" for
Ukraine also included and extended to "the peace plan" for
Russia as well. For surrendering Novorossiya follows the same logic
and the same master plan for surrendering Russia itself.
Mikhail
Khodorkovsky breaks political silence, saying he would lead Russia
The
former oil tycoon and adversary of president Vladimir Putin has
launched a pro-European political platform from exile
Mikhail Khodorkovsky hopes to unite pro-European Russians against Vladimir Putin.Photograph: Michael Sohn/AP
23
December, 2014
The
former tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who spent a decade in jail after
challenging the Kremlin, says he would be ready to lead Russia if
called upon.
Khodorkovsky’s
statement, at the launch of an online movement called Open Russia,
appears to break his promise to steer clear of politics, which he
made after being pardoned by president Vladimir Putin in December.
“I
would not be interested in the idea of becoming president of Russia
at a time when the country would be developing normally,” he was
quoted as saying by Le Monde newspaper.
“But
if it appeared necessary to overcome the crisis and to carry out
constitutional reform, the essence of which would be to redistribute
presidential powers in favour of the judiciary, parliament and civil
society, then I would be ready to take on this part of the task.”
Open
Russia is intended to unite pro-European Russians in a bid to
challenge Putin’s grip on power.
“A
minority will be influential if it is organised,” Khodorkovsky said
during a ceremony broadcast online from Paris.
Khodorkovsky
and his allies said political change could come quickly and insisted
the time had come to think of Russia’s future after Putin.
He
stressed that his project – named after his charity that was shut
down after his imprisonment – would be an online “platform” for
like-minded people, not a political party.
But
he did not anticipate Putin would approve.
“I
expect him to be upset,” Khodorkovsky said.
Russian
activists and prominent emigres including Paris-based economist
Sergei Guriyev and London-based businessman Yevgeny Chichvarkin –
both of whom fled the country under pressure from security services –
joined the online ceremony.
Khodorkovsky,
who lives in Switzerland with his family, openly supported the
Ukrainian uprising that ousted a Moscow-backed president in February,
but indicated he did not want a bloody revolt for Russia.
The
former head of the defunct Yukos oil firm sakd all those supporting a
pro-European course for Russia should before parliamentary elections
scheduled for 2016.
“We
support what they call the European choice or a state governed by the
rule of law,” he said.
“We
believe that the statement ‘Russia is not Europe’ is a lie that
is being imposed on society on purpose.
“This
is being done by those who want to rule the country for life, those
who want to spit upon law and justice,” Khodorkovsky said in a
thinly veiled reference to Putin.
“We
are Europe, both in terms of geography and culture.
“We
are not simply Russian Europeans. We are patriots. And true patriots
even during pitch-dark reactionary times should serve their country
and their people.”
Khodorkovsky’s
supporters expressed hopes his project would raise awareness among
Russians and help them see through state propaganda.
“It
is time to open our mouths,” Chichvarkin said.
“We
are ahead of a long, hard and dangerous path,” the former deputy
finance minister and economist Sergei Aleksashenko said.
Russian
state media appeared to enforce a blackout on news coverage of
Khodorkovky’s project.
His
spokeswoman Olga Pispanen said the project’s website,
openrussia.org, became the target of distributed denial of service
attacks.
Attempts
to prevent activists from joining the ceremony were reported in the
central Russian cities of Nizhny Novgorod and Yaroslavl.
While
many scoffed at Khodorkovsky’s effort to rally Russians while in
exile, some said the project could pay off in the long run.
“Such
a project is sorely needed,” political analyst Mark Urnov said,
calling it an “antidote” to the country’s grim reality.
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