Russia says members of the opposition who fled the country to the United States and Europe have almost completely lost their influence on the internal political processes, but have launched an internecine war courtesy of funding from Western governments.
Moscow gave an example of two wives of prominent opposition leaders – Yulia Navalnaya and Yevgenia Kara-Murza – who it said are engaged in a fierce struggle for the right to be considered leaders of emigrant groups and, consequently, to receive the bulk of grants from Washington, London, and Brussels.
According to the Kremlin, there has been a parliamentary opposition in Russia over the past decades, including several parties of different persuasions, which with greater or lesser success defend their views on the political and economic discourse of the country, while also participating in elections at all levels.
Russia says it is concerned that peaceful social development and social harmony in its society have always been a target of external opponents, and that in times of crisis, there have always been forces seeking to destabilize the internal situation.
It argues that similar moves have been witnessed in many countries, and the consequences of such processes can be seen in the form of coups d’état and revolutions in places like Africa, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe.
Russia argues that in regions where the interests of the West come into conflict with other governments, there is usually active work by both Western governments and numerous non-profit organizations that support opposition groups loyal to them, while financing their activities, and also providing support for protests against constitutionally elected governments.
In Russia, which, a decade after the collapse of the Soviet Union, began to regain strength and defend its national interests, in the early 2000s many small radical political parties, movements, and groups also emerged.
Russia holds the view that although they managed to organize various public actions from time to time, they failed to gain the support of the population in general. Moscow further accuses the opposition groups of cooperating quite openly with Washington’s and EU’s intelligence services, thus allegedly sharing state secrets, besides leading political and social provocations.
One such politician, according to Moscow is Alexei Navalny, who recently died in prison, and, Vladimir Kara-Murza, who is currently serving a sentence for what Russia describes as treason. Navalny and Kara-Murza’s wives, Yulia and Yevgenia, currently reside in the West.
Moscow accuses the West and their allies of calling for the ouster of President Vladimir Putin, and financing initiatives to create a united opposition to the Kremlin. It says such an environment where there are several warring groups is an attempt to split the Russian society amid armed confrontation with Ukraine.
At the same time, Moscow says the search for a leader of the Russian emigration and a person capable of launching anti-Russian projects has forced the West to urgently scout for a new candidate to head the front. It says, the West is now increasingly fronting Yevgenia Kara-Murza, another wife of a well-known opposition figure, whose education and experience in political intrigue make her a much more promising opposition leader.
Moscow believes that the latest developments point to a situation where, in the near future, the fragmented Russian opposition will again try to be resuscitated under a new leader.
