Looking at what's happening in Russia, I can't help thinking about the international proverb "you reap what you sow". Now, it's time for the Russian people to reap what they have long ago so eagerly sown in the North Caucasus, Africa and Eastern Ukraine. And don't try to convince me that corruption or some bandits are the ones to blame. It's harsh, but the truth is that the Russian people are to blame for creating such a situation, and they will be the ones who will have to deal with Putin's regime, if it's not already too late.
If someone was to ask me how I feel seeing that the people in Russia have finally opened their eyes to the criminals that are running their country and whether I'm actually secretly enjoying all of it, I would answer with a "no". Do I feel respect towards the protesters? Not really - in general, I almost don't care.
Why? Because I can't believe the lies of the protesters that they previously didn't know the truth about their president, about what Russian intelligence services do and how fat their government officials have become over the years.
And now watch the infamous video by Navalny about Putin's castle and maybe you'll be able to see what I saw, i.e. the video was made by a person no different from Putin and the food chain in Russia is incredibly corrupt from the bottom to the top, and there's almost nothing anyone can do about it.
Does anyone recall what Navalny has said about Crimea, Russian-speakers in the Baltic states and other issues related to Russia's "imperial status" or ones that challenge the notion that the Russian people are the peak of creation? Of course, not! Instead of saying that Crimea should be returned to Ukraine, Navalny suggested that another referendum be held. So, how is Navalny different from Putin? He isn't!
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It's hard to believe that the protests will have any effect - not only because they are too small in their scale, but also because I doubt that any of the protesters would be willing to swear that they have never stolen anything from the system or their employer, for instance, by taking their "work" home. I would describe this situation in Russia as spasms in the food chain that cause by the people on the bottom finally seeing that someone was much more clever than them and acquired a palace in Gelendzhik. Sad but true - Russia isn't ready for better times.
When I look at the protests in Russian cities, I feel indifference and pity. I also feel disgust when I see policemen beating middle-aged women and young people who don't have a present or a future in Russia. It feels like I'm watching a scene from National Geographic where animals fight and eat each other in order to survive. I don't grieve for anyone in Russia, but Putin's regime needs to come to an end because my heart truly does want for the "good guys" to win. However, the "good guys" were once able to defeat the red monster, and we can see how that turned out. Fortunately, in Latvia we are now able to look at everything from a safe distance.
They have to deal with this themselves! Because it's the Russian people that have been singing along with Putin for all these years when he ordered the numerous assassinations of journalists, opposition figures and witnesses. These are the same people that were yelling "Crimea is ours!!!" and the same people that beat "their own" with rubber batons like it's their favorite pastime. Now, the hour of revenge is at hand - Russians are being chased, beaten and jailed by the police who have no problem of fabricating accusations against them. The former heroes that once "freed" the Caucasus from terrorists, Abkhazia and South Ossetia from Georgian "Nazis" and Crimea and Eastern Ukraine from the Kiev "junta" have now raised their hand against their own.
Was it not the Russian people who gave their blessing to both Chechen wars? Was it not the Russian people who celebrated the arrival of the polite green men in the occupied Crimea? It seems that now it's the people's turn - there was a reason why Putin bolstered the internal troops and created the National Guard, which was intended exactly for such situations.
Many of you will probably say that it's not the people's fault, to which I would reply: "Passivity and indifference caused all this. What the people have sown, they must now reap." There is no smoke without fire. The essence and culture of a nation is reflected by their choice of leaders, and this is a universal truth.
It is because the Russian have been indifferent for all this time that they are now being beaten with rubber batons for exercising their freedom of speech and basic human rights. Were the Russians protesting when their army entered Georgia or Ukraine? No, they remained silent. Now, Navalny and a handful of supporters suddenly remembered that such things as human rights, freedom of speech, constitution and fairness do actually exist. At the same time, last summer the Russians legalized their "new constitution" that clearly stated that "Russia is no longer a lawful state".
Don't get me wrong, in some sense I do care for the Russian people who have taken to the streets to "fight" against the thief Putin. It would seem that people have finally waken up, but not completely - the only thing they've understood is that if they don't do anything one day someone may come after them too. Do the Russian people understand and feel sorry for the fact that their government through the hands of the people has murdered tens if not hundreds of thousands of people abroad, for instance, in Chechnya, Ingushetia, Dagestan, Kabardino-Balkaria, Georgia, Armenia, Ukraine, Libya, Syria and Venezuela, not to mention the poisoning and murdering of "their own" not only in Russia, but also in places like the UK? Did anyone in Russia do as much as to lift a finger when Kadyrov's "cousin" shot Putin's arch-nemesis Nemtsov near the Kremlin's walls? No.
Sure, now they don't love Putin, but the Russian people will never find the courage to admit that all these wars, conflicts and assassinations are the result of their indifference. Russia can change only when its people understand that the moral responsibility for the bloody atrocities committed by Putin's regime is on their shoulders.
Russians wanted an evil and "strong" president who destroys everything in his path so that the "great superpower" would no longer feel ashamed. And they got what they asked for! Why do they no longer wish to live under the same roof with Putin and his trusty pets - FSB, GRU, SVR and the National Guard? Obviously, the sanctions imposed by the West are taking their toll - the pockets of the Russian people have become emptier, life has become more difficult and now they don't care that Crimea is theirs, that Putin is Times' person of the year and that Russia was the first to invent a vaccine against Covid-19. What good is all that when you're hungry and when morgues are filled with Covid-19 corpses? These things are meaningless now, but it won't be easy to fix this huge mess.
The situation of the Russian people reminds me of a dump that has no more room for trash, i.e. lies and crimes. Why a dump? Because the Russian people don't want to admit their own lies or the crimes committed by Putin's regime against other nations in the same way a person doesn't want to clean up his own dirt and trash. The Russian people haven't taken out the trash for decades, despite the fact that in the crazy 90-ies, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, they had a great opportunity to do so. Instead, they chose the path familiar to them for ages.
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