A hundred Russian officials call for Putin's resignation
Russia's relentless attrition is beginning to take its toll on President Vladimir Putin. A hundred councillors from 18 districts in the cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg have demanded Putin's resignation in a public statement accusing him of "high treason" for starting a war that directly affects Russian citizens.
"We, the municipal deputies of Russia, believe that the actions of President Vladimir Putin are damaging the future of Russia and its citizens, and we demand the resignation of Vladimir Putin as President of the Russian Federation!," the statement reads. The signatories base the petition on the fact that in "the special military operation" there are "indications of a crime covered by Article 73 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation of high treason", an argument that is gaining strength by the day.
This open opposition to Putin has been gaining supporters since it began on 7 September, when the Lomonosovksy district council in Moscow demanded his resignation, taking advantage of the absence of several deputies from the ruling United Russia party. An initiative that was also joined by deputies from the Smolny and Kolpino district in St. Petersburg.
"More and more deputies are joining the call for Vladimir Putin to resign," Dmitri Paliuga, the author of the initiative and a municipal deputy in St. Petersburg, told the press. The reasons are clear: "We are against killing Ukrainians, demilitarising Ukraine is absurd, and on top of that the opposite has happened, now it has more weapons", he said.
Мундепы требуют отставки Путина
Муниципальные депутаты из 18 разных округов Москвы, Петербурга и Колпино требуют отставки Путина. Текст петиции лаконичный, никого не “дискредитирует”. Если вы мундеп и хотите присоедниться - милости просим. pic.twitter.com/APCUZRlznv— Ксения Торстрем (@kseniathorstrom) September 12, 2022
However, the councillors are not the only ones who have called Putin to account. The escalation of Russian troops in Ukraine has also led some of Putin's entourage to demand the dismissal of members of the high command, the Defence Ministry and even military intelligence. Ultimately, they are responsible for having fallen into the trap of the Ukrainian strategy that established a supposed attack in other regions far from Kharkov and for which the Russians had displaced their troops from there. Now, the last Russian strongholds in this region have been withdrawn, and Ukraine continues to gain ground.
Moreover, the invasion in Ukraine is not the only reason why public officials are calling for Putin's resignation. The councillors also complain that since Putin's second term in office "everything has gone wrong": GDP has not doubled, the minimum wage has not increased and stability has disappeared. According to the councillors, Putin's policies are "outdated", "hopelessly out of date and hindering Russia's development".
Putin has achieved almost the opposite of what he set out to achieve with the invasion. Ukraine now possesses more weapons than it had and NATO's border has doubled with the accession of Sweden and Finland to the Atlantic Alliance.
But unseating Putin is virtually impossible: the motion promises a short political run. In addition to being the leader of the party that dominates the Duma, United Russia, the same party that won the elections on 11 September, Putin has been at the helm of the Kremlin since 2000 and, according to the constitutional reform, could remain in office until 2036. These conditions do not allow for any destabilisation of his mandate.
What is feared, however, is that the protest could spread. The Russian police itself is already working against this, warning the signatories of the motion that they face "legal charges" for discrediting the government. Paliuga himself has already been summoned to appear before a St. Petersburg court for allegedly discrediting the Russian president.
