[Aaus-list] Letter from Russian Protest Leader Alexey Navalny, under House Arrest in Moscow

[Marta Farion]

How to Punish Putin


http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/20/opinion/how-to-punish-putin.html?_r=0


By ALEXEY A. NAVALNY


March 19, 2014


MOSCOW - AS I write this, I am
<http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/01/world/europe/aleksei-navalny.html> under
house arrest. I was detained at a rally in support of anti-Putin protesters
who were jailed last month.

In September, I ran for mayor of Moscow as a pro-reform, pro-democracy
opposition candidate and received almost a third of the vote despite having
no access to state media. Today, my blog, which was until recently visited
by over two million readers per month, has been blocked as "extremist" after
I called for friendly ties with Ukraine and compliance with international
law.

For years, I have been telling journalists that President Vladimir V.
Putin's approval rating would soon peak and then tumble. Russia's economy is
stagnant, I said, and the Russian people would soon weary of the president's
empty promises. Even a rally-round-the-flag military adventure - a "little
war," as it's known in Russia - would be impossible, I believed. Russia no
longer had enemies.

Then, on Feb. 28, Russia sent troops to Ukraine in precisely such a "little
war." I admit that I underestimated Mr. Putin's talent for finding enemies,
as well as his dedication to ruling as "president for life," with powers on
par with the czars'.

As a citizen and patriot, I cannot support actions against Russia that would
worsen conditions for our people. Still, I recommend two options that, if
successfully implemented, I believe would be welcomed by most Russians.

First, although Mr. Putin's invasion has already prompted the European Union
to impose sanctions on 21 officials, and the United States on seven, most of
these government figures cannot be considered influential. They do not have
major assets outside Russia and are irrelevant to Mr. Putin; sanctioning
them will not change Russia's policy. After all the tough talk from Western
politicians, this action is mocked in Russia and even seen as a tacit
encouragement to Mr. Putin and his entourage, who seem to possess some
magical immunity.

Instead, Western nations could deliver a serious blow to the luxurious
lifestyles enjoyed by the Kremlin's cronies who shuttle between Russia and
the West. This means freezing the oligarchs' financial assets and seizing
their property.

Such sanctions should primarily target Mr. Putin's inner circle, the Kremlin
mafia who pillage the nation's wealth, including Gennady N. Timchenko, head
of the Volga Group; Arkady and Boris Rotenberg, influential businessmen and
former judo sparring partners of Mr. Putin; Yuri V. Kovalchuk, a financier
believed to be Mr. Putin's banker; Vladimir I. Yakunin, president of Russian
Railways; the oligarchs Roman A. Abramovich and Alisher B. Usmanov; and Igor
I. Sechin and Aleksei B. Miller, the heads of Rosneft and Gazprom,
respectively.

The sanctions must also hit the oligarchs whose media outlets parrot the
regime lines, and target Mr. Putin's entire "war cabinet": the TV spin
doctors, compliant Duma members and apparatchiks of Mr. Putin's United
Russia Party.

The invasion of Ukraine has polarized members of Russia's elite, many of
whom view it as reckless. Real sanctions, such as blocking access to their
plush London apartments, will show that Mr. Putin's folly comes with serious
costs.

Second, Western authorities must investigate ill-gotten gains from Russia
within their jurisdictions. The Anti-Corruption Foundation, which I
established in 2011, has revealed dozens of major cases of graft. In 90
percent of those cases, Russian money was laundered in the West. Sadly,
American, European Union and British law enforcement agencies have stymied
our efforts to investigate such criminal plunder.

"Crimea has always been an integral part of Russia in the hearts and minds
of people," Mr. Putin claimed this week. But even among the most nationalist
and pro-Soviet of our people, a longing to restore Crimea to Russian rule
faded years ago.

Yet Mr. Putin has cynically raised nationalist fervor to a fever pitch;
imperialist annexation is a strategic choice to bolster his regime's
survival. Mobilizing the masses by distracting them from real problems like
corruption and economic stagnation can take place only beneath the banner of
fighting external enemies.

What is truly alarming in Mr. Putin's rash behavior is that he is motivated
by the desire for revenge against the Ukrainian people for revolting against
a Kremlin-friendly government. A rational actor would know that the
precedent of holding a local referendum to determine sovereignty is risky
for Russia - a federation of more than 80 disparate regions, including more
than 160 ethnic groups and at least 100 languages.

It is true that the consensus in both Russia and Crimea is that the
peninsula has historically been closer to Moscow than to Kiev. But the
notion that this reunification should be achieved at the end of the barrel
of a gun is supported only by Mr. Putin's hard-core base. The opposition has
spoken clearly. The antiwar protest held in Moscow over the weekend was the
largest in two years, and it exceeded any counterdemonstration mustered by
pro-Kremlin movements.

There is a common delusion among the international community that although
Mr. Putin is corrupt, his leadership is necessary because his regime subdues
the dark, nationalist forces that otherwise would seize power in Russia. The
West should admit that it, too, has underestimated Mr. Putin's malign
intent. It is time to end the dangerous delusion that enables him.

Alexey A. Navalny is a Russian lawyer, anti-corruption activist and
opposition politician.

 


 

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