Elections in Ukraine and Russia: Can you feel the difference?

Yesterday, a bill was introduced in the State Duma of Russia to invalidate the presidential elections in Ukraine — according to Russian deputies, they do not meet democratic standards. Recall that in the first round of elections in Ukraine participated 44 candidates, and the opposition candidate surpassed the incumbent president by almost twice the votes, who in turn was not far behind another main opposition candidate. In addition, a candidate who received a significant number of votes participated in the elections after seeking public support in Moscow and receiving it from the authorities of a hostile state.

Oh, Russia really is different! Ukraine must learn and grow from it! To such an extent that the main opponent of the current regime is not even allowed to participate in the presidential elections, and the allowed candidate from the systemic opposition is in danger of losing his business. But let’s leave aside the federal level and look at the problem using the example of Muslims. Our readers know that recently the main competitor of the acting interim head of the Republic of Bashkortostan was removed from the elections by arrest and the initiation of a criminal case against him. A year after his third term in a maximum security prison, he is now facing a fourth term of imprisonment on charges of calling for the violation of the territorial integrity of the Russian Federation, which is qualified as «calling for the creation of a new federation».

But there will be opposition in the Bashkortostan elections as well. Just yesterday, on the International Day of Laughter, a certain Alexei Molokin, who previously headed the republican branch of Eduard Limonov’s Party of African Male Beauty admirers and is close to the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR), announced his candidacy for the post of head of the republic. One could argue that the political and sexual preferences of the leaders of the new candidate’s party are a matter of taste, and that their participation in these elections proves that there is an opposition in Russia.

But there is a catch. As the well-known human rights defender and prisoner of conscience Robert Zagreev reported in the republic, it was Molokin who, under the pseudonym Abdullo Kadyrov, testified as a secret witness for the FSB in 2009, and his testimony was used to imprison Airat Dilmukhametov. It is clear from this testimony that the person who gave it was actively involved in opposition activities in the republic and had gained Dilmukhametov’s trust. Dilmukhametov himself confirms that the secret witness and FSB informant is none other than Molokin, the current «opposition candidate for the post of the head of the Republic of Bashkortostan».

Interestingly, another similar «oppositionist» is Dmitry Chuvilin, the coordinator of the local «Left Front», according to Zagreev and Dilmukhametov, who is also protected by the special services in exchange for cooperation.

Of course, one can doubt such an assessment, but the fact is: Dilmukhametov has already been imprisoned for the fourth time, Zagreev has served his sentence, and Chuvilin, like Molokin, conveniently pretends to be in opposition to the current head of the republic. «Coincidence? I don’t think so…»

This illustrates the difference in elections between two countries, in one of which representatives of the opposition freely participate, even those who are openly anti-government, while the president struggles to make it to the second round. In the other country, real opposition representatives are not allowed to participate in the elections, and those who do participate under the guise of the opposition turn out to be long-time informants and protégés of the intelligence services.

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