It used to be that defying Vladimir Putin was a surefire way to catch either a death sentence or an all-expenses-paid trip to a remote Siberian labor camp, but the Russian Federation President’s star is no longer twinkling that way that it used to.
The humiliating failures of his invasion of Ukraine have shattered his “tough guy” image, and shown the Kremlin’s tyrant to be a far less effective and fearsome foe than originally imagined.
In fact, the difference is so stark that some Russian lawmakers are even beginning to openly criticize him, demanding a shift in the direction of his illegal and immoral invasion.
Regional leaders in Russia have written to President Vladimir Putin, urging him to declare an end to his mobilization for the war in Ukraine, amid chatter that that the Kremlin may call up even more reservists.
Emilia Slabunova, a member of the Legislative Assembly of the Republic of Karelia, posted the letter to her Telegram channel on Tuesday. The letter was also signed by her colleague Inna Boluchevskaya. Both are party deputies for the liberal Yabloko political party — which opposes the war in Ukraine — in the northwestern Russian region of Karelia.
Slabunova wrote on her Telegram channel that Russia’s Defense Ministry said the mobilization was “complete,” but it has not issued any legal guarantee that the call-ups wouldn’t reoccur.
She called on Putin to issue a decree officially stating that the mobilization was over — just as he announced a decree to initiate the call to arms on September 21.
There was no mincing of words, either.
The absence of such a decree “affects the psychological state of society” and is a source of “increased anxiety” among Russian families, Slabunova wrote, adding that some of her constituents are suffering from health issues due to the stress.
And while it is unlikely that Putin will take such suggestions under advisement, the mere presence of such a narrative in Russian politics points to the continued diminishing of the dictator’s stranglehold on Moscow.
