In Soviet times, people used to joke that a true intellectual should be able to distinguish between Gogol and Hegel, Hegel and Bebel, Bebel and Babel, and Babel and cable.
It is difficult to say how many of these tasks Vladimir Putin would be able to perform today, but he is certainly no longer able to distinguish between banned organizations in Russia and the reasons for their prohibition.
For example, at a recent meeting of the Human Rights Council (HRC), he rejected a proposal by its previous composition (https://golosislama.com/news.php?id=36058) to remove the Hizb ut-Tahrir party from the list of terrorist organizations in Russia. This party operates legally in most Western countries.
Here is how he justified his decision (among other things) «Unfortunately, the promotion of their ideas has had serious consequences, related to the fact that, for example, they prohibit blood transfusions. They have prevented the transfusion of blood to children who desperately needed it to save their lives. The latest tragic case occurred last year in the Russian Federation in Kabardino-Balkaria. The child died. Children were saved in places where the followers of this church, this movement, as it were, provided help by force and coercion».
What can be said — it’s a difficult case… After all, in justifying the need to ban Hizb ut-Tahrir, he described a problem of a completely different organization — «Jehovah’s Witnesses». By the way, with this reservation by Putin, it is absolutely clear that we were right when we predicted that, contrary to the expectations of some, the ban on this organization will not be lifted (https://golosislama.com/news.php?id=35596).
Of course, one could ironically say that perhaps the concern for the future of the children of Hizb ut-Tahrir members can be explained by the fact that their fathers are currently serving 20-year sentences in Putin’s Russia. Perhaps this is what Putin meant by their forced salvation?
In general, besides equating Hizb ut-Tahrir with Jehovah’s Witnesses, Putin has also referred to the Khazarian Jews as the ancestors of the Russians, and, as we have written, he has threatened the world with a new Srebrenica in Ukraine, a genocide that he denies in Srebrenica itself (https://golosislama.com/news.php?id=37696).
There’s no need to mention Babel and Bebel here…