Vladimir Putin is “out of his mind” and is no longer the legitimate president of Russia, regardless of whether or not the West recognizes the presidential elections in March, Jan Racinski, director of the Memorial organization, which received the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize, told EFE. reminiscent of Agerpres.

“If we talk about legitimacy, then Putin is already illegitimate, because since 2011 there has not even been a simulacrum of competitive elections. Total falsification, I’m not talking about reforming the Constitution,” he commented during an interview at the headquarters of “Memorial” in Moscow.

Racinsky, whose organization was liquidated by Russian justice in 2022, believes that social and political upheavals in Russia did not begin two years ago with the war in Ukraine, but much earlier, in 2014, with Moscow’s illegal annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula. Crimea

“When a person (like Putin) thinks he can defeat Ukraine in a week, he must be a healthy person,” he said.

Putin is a usurper, the Nobel laureate believes

The director of “Memorial” believes that “non-recognition of the President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, is possible because it is a very small country (…) and is not an important actor from the economic point of view.” We will remind you that the European Union, the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada did not recognize the results of the last presidential elections in Belarus, condemning large-scale falsification.

Racynsky says that instead, “Russia is a huge country. Non-recognition means severing relations and ties and giving up the opportunity to influence what happens in the country.”

“This is more of a political issue. From the point of view of law, this legitimacy no longer exists. Neither him (Putin – no), nor the so-called parliament. Proclaiming so that everyone understands that this is not the elected president, but a usurper and dictator is something quite appropriate and correct,” Racynskyi believes.

The winner of the Nobel Peace Prize believes that “much depends” on the desire of the West and the rest of the world to “protect international law” in Ukraine. The West must make a choice “between inconvenience now and disaster tomorrow,” Racinsky emphasized and recalled that for Putin “it was a surprise” that European leaders put the struggle with Ukraine above “economic interests.”

Putin “is used to dealing with not very honest businessmen. He thought that he would get a clean bill with gas and crude oil, but it didn’t work out,” explained Racynskyi.

Navalny’s death, a “political murder”

Ratsynsky believes that the death in prison of the oppositionist Oleksii Navalny is a true reflection of the current “degradation”, although he notes that Navalny “is not the first political prisoner who died in prison, but this is the most high-profile case.”

“Regardless of the official cause of his death, it was undoubtedly a political murder (…) Navalny was consistent, he did not give in. For this alone he deserves respect. He never resorted to violence, never renounced his beliefs,” he emphasizes.

The Russian activist admits that he was surprised by the “cowardice of the authorities in front of the bouquets of flowers” that the Russians presented in recent days, peaceful actions, during which hundreds of people were arrested. Racinsky reminded that “the Russian opposition did not break windows and did not burn any cars”, but nevertheless its representatives are “condemned for extremism”.

“The authorities do not understand what closes the exhaust valve. The pot is already full (…) Fear sooner or later turns to anger. Steam pressure can destroy everything,” he notes.

But he also warns that currently “there is no possibility to prepare an alternative government because there are no political actors.”

“The Russian political landscape was practically devastated. There is only one (legal) opposition party, Yabloko, which does not have many options (…) We do not see anything positive in the short term. Of course, Russia will be free in the future. What else can we do?!” – asks Racynskyi.