Kremlin critic says Ukraine war ‘backfires’ on Putin as discontent grows – National
A Russian opposition politician and prominent critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin says the war in Ukraine is “setting back” the regime at home, with signs of waning domestic support as Kremlin forces crowd the battlefield.
In an interview with Global News on Friday, Vladimir Kara-Murza – who has survived multiple poisoning attempts and was released from a 25-year Russian prison sentence for protesting a 2024 prisoner swap – said mounting military and economic failures have stripped Putin of his strong image and exposed him as “very weak.”
“I think it’s becoming increasingly clear to everyone that this war has really set Putin’s regime back,” he said in Ottawa, a day after testifying in Parliament in favor of legislation that would strengthen the Canadian regime’s sanctions.
“We know from our history in Russia that these failed wars of aggression always end up against the regimes that started these wars, and ultimately lead to very bad political changes in the country. And I think it’s becoming increasingly clear in the last few weeks that this is what is happening in Russia.”
In a Washington Post opinion piece this week, Kara-Murza cited a recent poll by the independent Levada Center that found 62 percent of Russians favor peace talks with Ukraine, while only 27 percent support the war, now in its fifth year.
While Kara-Murza noted that accurate polls are difficult to obtain in Russia due to the “fear factor” fueled by the Kremlin, he suggested that the actual number of those who support the peace talks may be much higher.
There have been growing reports of economic hardship in Russia as its wartime economy stagnates, despite rising oil revenues during the Middle East conflict. Inflation is high and the Kremlin has raised taxes to control its budget deficit.
Internet shutdowns in Moscow and other cities fueled discontent after some Kremlin-loyal social media activists began openly criticizing government policies.
Meanwhile, an increase in drone attacks in Ukraine has put the Russian military on the back foot as it strikes deeper into the country, targeting power centers and military bases.
Fears of a Ukrainian attack on Moscow itself forced Putin to scale back the annual May 9 Victory Day parade, which typically showcases military might and state support.
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Putin has tried to change the situation with increasing attacks in Ukraine, including Friday’s mass shooting that saw a Russian jet crash into a building in Romania – a NATO ally – near the Ukrainian border, injuring two people.
Ukraine has said it is preparing for more attacks, including in Kyiv, where the Kremlin warned foreign diplomats to evacuate this week.
“I think (the warning) will be very important evidence, without a doubt, in a future court when Putin and his followers will one day find themselves sitting in jail and charged with all the terrible crimes they have committed, including during this war,” Kara-Murza said.
The Levada poll was released ahead of parliamentary elections in September, when the Kremlin has again moved to keep anti-war voices out of the vote by targeting leading members of Russia’s remaining opposition party, Yabloko, on administrative and criminal charges – including friends of Kara-Murza.
“The best way to assess the situation (in Russia) is actually by looking at the behavior of the regime,” he said. “And we see that the Kremlin is incredibly afraid to allow even the most conservative, moderate anti-war voices into the Russian vote at any level.”
While those efforts may be successful, he added, “What’s becoming increasingly difficult for the Kremlin is to maintain the pretense, both to domestic and international audiences, that Putin’s war in Ukraine is widely supported by the Russian public. It’s becoming increasingly clear to everyone that that claim is false.”
Kara-Murza said that she is not only hopeful but confident that she will soon be able to return from exile to her country to see the fall of Putin’s regime and the return of democracy to Russia.
He said the opposition democratic party must start now to prepare for that change.
“We know from Russian history that major political changes in our country often happen … quickly, suddenly, and unexpectedly,” he said.
“We have no right to waste the next opportunity for democratic change in Russia, the way that opportunity was wasted back in the 1990s. This kind of change may take three years, it may take two weeks, but what we know is that when that window of change opens, it will be very short.”
Bill Browder, a financier and anti-sanctions activist who testified alongside Kara-Murza at the House of Commons foreign affairs committee on Thursday, told Global News in an interview Thursday that Russians will be looking for new leaders if Putin’s regime falls.
Opposition parties like Kara-Murza are “the most likely candidates,” he said.
“What I learned about Vladimir and other members of the Russian opposition is that the amount of sacrifice they are willing to make to try to bring normalcy to their country is beyond human,” Browder said.
“It’s a very dangerous place to stand against Vladimir Putin. But really, the more he reacts to it, the more you know he’s on the ropes.”
Kara-Murza and Browder are calling for Parliament to pass legislation that would, among other measures, add extraterritorial coercion as an offense under Canadian law and require annual government reports documenting “prisoners of conscience” held by foreign countries.
Kara-Murza told Global News that the law would send a strong message to regimes like Putin’s and should be part of a renewed international effort to pressure the Kremlin into negotiations to end the war in Ukraine.
“Aggressors don’t stop until they’re stopped, and it’s time for the free world to stop Vladimir Putin,” he said.
“As long as Russia remains a dictator, it will always be a threat not only to our own people, but to everyone outside. … The only real way to ensure long-term peace, stability and security in Europe and the world at large is for Russia to become a normal, civilized, and democratic country.”
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