Russian volunteer fighters fighting alongside their compatriots in Ukraine could be a vanguard in a future revolution to topple Vladimir Putin, a prominent opposition leader has said.
Ilya Ponomarev — a member of the Russian parliament from 2007 to 2016 and the only one to vote against the annexation of Crimea in 2014 — said that Putin has set the stage for a “new Russian revolution” with a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
“In our situation, I think it is imperative that we face a violent protest and an armed protest, I think it would not happen without armed resistance,” Ponomarev was quoted as saying.
“… That’s why we’re preparing for this and that’s why we’re preparing military elements with the Russians now in Ukraine, who are fighting alongside the Ukrainian army on the front line … they’re ready to go to Russia in the decisive moment”.
Ponomarev — author of “Must Putin Die?: The Story of How Russia Became a Democracy After Defeat in Ukraine” — lives in Ukraine and served in a unit defending the country during the early days of the invasion.
He even said that there are about 4,000 Russian citizens serving in the armed forces of Ukraine.
Ponomarev rose to prominence earlier this year by “introducing” the previously unknown anti-government guerrilla group the National Republican Army, which claimed responsibility for the murder of Darya Dugina, the daughter of influential far-right ideologue Aleksandr Dugin.
The NRA — of which there has been no independent verification — is not the only guerrilla group operating in Russia, Ponomarev said.
The NRA, he said, “are not the only ones we are working with, I am very actively talking to others.”
Speaking about the developments in Russia, he said that Russia is not yet on the verge of revolution – but it is not far.
“I think it will happen next year”, he predicts.
Putin’s downfall, when it comes, will be remembered as self-inflicted, the politician added.
“I didn’t think he would invade Ukraine and put himself in such mortal danger. As soon as it started on February 24, I said that the final count has begun.”
“Territorial losses would have a lot of impact”, he added. “The withdrawal from the Kharkiv region had its effect on society and that was actually the reason for the mobilization… The loss of Kherson would have an even greater impact.”
The current elites surrounding Putin, he said, should not be allowed to be part of the new Russia.
“Most of them don’t want to change anything”, Ponomarev assesses.
However, Ponomarev warned that the total collapse of Russia would be “dangerous and counterproductive for everyone”, although he added that republics such as Chechnya could make plays for independence.
“We must recreate Russia,” he said. “We have to rebuild it from scratch.”