"Signs of high treason": Russian politicians openly demand Putin's resignation

Created: 09/13/2022, 10:02 am

By: Felix Durach

The lack of success for Russia in the Ukraine war has made criticism of Vladimir Putin louder.

Several local politicians have now publicly called for the resignation of the president.

Moscow – The momentum in the Ukraine war may have turned in the past few days.

After the Ukrainian troops were able to significantly slow down the advance of the Russian armed forces over the past few months, Kyiv has now launched further counter-offensives.

In the Kharkiv region in the north-east of the country in particular, massive territory gains have been achieved in recent days.

In this context, reports of the uncoordinated withdrawal of Russian soldiers also increased.

In a speech at the economic forum in Vladivostok last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed that Moscow will achieve its goals in the war against the neighboring country.

However, the lack of military successes and the high number of Russian losses cast a bad light on the Kremlin boss.

Dissatisfaction with the president's decisions is increasing, so that Russian politicians are now even publicly criticizing the head of state.

Russian President Vladimir Putin rides up an escalator on the sidelines of the Economic Forum in Vladivostok.

© dpa

Putin under pressure: Russian local politicians call for resignation

Local politicians from the Russian metropolises of Moscow and St. Petersburg went so far last week that they openly called on Vladimir Putin to step down.

Politicians from Moscow's Lomonosov district released a statement targeting the president.

In the letter, which was also published on Twitter, they explain about the head of state: "We ask you to resign from your post because your views, your model of leadership are hopelessly outdated".

Although the authors of the letter admit that Putin pushed through good reforms at the beginning of his time as head of the Kremlin, the negative in his politics would now outweigh the negative.

"The rhetoric you and your subordinates use has long been riddled with intolerance and aggression, which in the end has actually thrown our country back to the Cold War era," read the direct accusation.

Russia would now be feared and hated around the world again as a result of Putin's decisions.

Opposition politician Vladimir Kalinin even read the statement in a video shared on social networks.

Vladimir Putin: Russian politicians are calling for charges of treason

Just a day before the letter from Moscow was published, local politicians from the Smolninskoye district of St. Petersburg had made a similar move.

The deputies also sent a letter to the Russian parliament, demanding nothing less than an indictment of high treason for Vladimir Putin.

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"There are indications of a crime provided for in Article 93 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation - high treason," the letter said.

Under Putin's leadership, the Russian armed forces would fail on all fronts in the Ukraine war, the authors continue.

The Russian army was significantly weakened because of the numerous losses on the battlefield.

The Russian economy is also suffering from the West's harsh economic sanctions against Moscow.

Demands for Putin's resignation: Russia weakened - NATO strengthened

But while Russia has been significantly weakened, MEPs say Ukraine and the West are benefiting from recent developments in the war.

The authors see NATO as the big winner in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

Simply by including Finland in the military alliance, the common borders between Russia and the NATO countries would more than double.

A scenario that is also problematic because, according to Putin, NATO represents the greatest security risk for the Russian Federation.

And the local politicians from St. Petersburg also see the Ukrainian army as significantly strengthened compared to the Russian armed forces.

At the start of the so-called "special operation" in Ukraine, the Kremlin chief had declared the country's demilitarization to be one of the main goals.

However, more than six months after the Russian invasion, the Ukrainian military is in a stronger position.

Above all, because of the delivery of the latest weapons technology by Western states to the war zone, the Ukrainians have a decisive advantage.

Voting in St. Petersburg: Putin's own party probably stabbed in the back

Particularly interesting: The demands to the State Duma were approved by vote by the city council of Smolninskoye.

As the local politician Nikita Yurefev said in a tweet, the vote was only possible because the representatives of Putin's party "United Russia" stayed away from the vote in the city council.

If MPs had voted against the demands, the opposition would not have had a majority.

So Putin's own party stabbed the Russian president in the back in his hometown.

Despite the tense situation in Ukraine, the party was able to secure a majority in large parts of the country in the regional elections at the weekend.

It is very unlikely that the demands of local politicians from Moscow and St. Petersburg could actually lead to the president's resignation.

The influence of the signatories is too small and that of the head of the Kremlin too great.

However, the events again show a growing dissatisfaction in Russian politics and the population.

Especially since it is not without risk in Russia to express criticism of Putin so openly.

This was shown not least by the case of the opposition politician Alexej Navalny, who has since been imprisoned.

The authors of the resignation demands also felt this.

The politicians were summoned by the police and reported.

The accusation: "Discrediting the deployment of the armed forces of the Russian Federation".