Translated text: In Venezuela, where the government has led the country to bankruptcy, mass poverty, hunger and emigration, millions of people have once again taken to the streets to say «Enough! Opposition leader and parliament speaker Juan Guaido declared the removal of incumbent President Nicolas Maduro from power and announced that he would temporarily assume his responsibilities.
Predictably, Maduro declared this an attempted coup and once again turned the remaining loyal forces of the police and military against his own people. Equally predictable was the reaction of his friend Vladimir, who recently made a generous gift to his fellow dictator: the restructuring of a $3.4 billion debt, including a waiver of repayment for the next 6 years. As they say, «Russia — a generous soul». Lately, however, this generosity has not been extended to its own citizens.
In a statement today, the Russian Foreign Ministry said, among other things, the following about the events in Venezuela: «Extremist opponents of the legitimate government of Venezuela, having failed in their attempts to remove Maduro, including by his physical elimination, have chosen the most confrontational scenario of confrontation.» «The inauguration of the opposition’s ‘Acting President of Venezuela’ and its immediate recognition by the United States and several regional states is aimed at aggravating the divisions in Venezuelan society, increasing the frontal confrontation in the streets, radically destabilizing the domestic political situation, and further escalating the conflict.»
Well, of course, who could doubt that? In other words, like the Muslims in Russia, oppressed by their own regime, we have every reason to rejoice at the imminent collapse of one of its satellites. However, this joy is overshadowed by the fact that Maduro has managed to place his bet on a leader who evokes different feelings in us than Putin does — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. In recent years, he has also decided to take on the political and financial burden of the Venezuelan leader, who is currently grasping at straws. And who has recently become a big fan of Turkey, Erdogan himself, and even their favorite TV series, «Ertugrul».
The question arises — how will millions of Venezuelans, who are eager for the fall of their dictator, now view Ertugrul, Erdogan, Turkey and everything associated with them? Today, Erdogan called on his friend on Twitter to «stand firm until the end», adding that Turkey is with him («we are with you»). But is it justified, as the Russians say, to put all your eggs in one basket? And is betting on a notoriously bankrupt leader who has divided his society and become a red rag for a significant part of it the best way to promote Islam and Turkey’s «soft power»?
We must understand that the times when the main criterion for evaluating a leader, regime or country was its anti-Americanism are over. China is increasingly taking America’s place, and it is not always bad when it comes to the former, or good when it comes to the latter, as the history of the Rohingya and Uighurs shows. Of course, this does not mean the opposite — that Muslims should look to and hope for America.
The new world brings new threats and new power dynamics, and those who want to occupy a worthy place in it must understand them well and make decisions based on that understanding and on their own capabilities and interests, not out of spite toward anyone. This is exactly what we would like to advise Muslims in both Turkey and Russia, using the example of the events in Venezuela.