Vladimir Sokolov: "You shouldn't hurry with conclusions, especially – with labels"

In recent days the Russian society against the background of the latest events in Ukraine broke up into two unequal parts. From all media and social networks we constantly hear a talk about war. Some unconditionally support actions of Russia, others – in horror speak about "shameful war with fraternal people".

Well, the consolidated public opinion can be developed only during the discussion, and without it the state is capable only restrictedly. But, unfortunately, I am afraid, we lost the culture of discussions.

Today in the Russian political space, in my opinion, there is an only structure encouraging and even stimulating internal discussions for the sake of development of a common position – and it is Citizens' initiative party. The name of our party assumes that any of us, out of party subordination, can take an independent stand, moreover, is obliged to state it. We differ in it from the majority even of the liberal parties, without speaking about conservative where all are obliged "to march in step".

But rules of any discussion mean right use of terms and definitions. To speak about the events which are taking place in Ukraine as war, it is impossible as we didn't declare on the neighboring country war. And Kiev in eight years didn't find time to declare war on Russia though all these years his politicians and journalists massively spoke about war with our country. The Ukrainian power didn't make it and now.

In essence, the events – no more, than large-scale special operation. Yes, with involvement of army and specific military means of different power, but without actions peculiar to real war.

We saw the real war aimed at elimination of the opponent in 1999 in Yugoslavia. And further – in Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, etc. We watched nearly eight years the original civil war on Donbass where the Kiev mode launched really fratricidal civil war. With bombings on the areas, in-place destruction of infrastructure and a great number of the died innocent people.

Compare it to the jewelry disarming blows to military infrastructure which our Special Operations Forces strike to the opponent's objects. What to speak about if on rollers which are published by the locals, the Russian soldiers taking the Ukrainian cities under control even scrupulously follow traffic regulations! Therefore let's stop speaking about "war".

It is more correct to call what occurs now special operation on demilitarization and a denazification. In fact, it is the police work directed to elimination of large nationalist and gangster formation. Yes, with involvement of army and purely military means – but gang painfully large. And the medical term "operation" here quite to the place. There is no sense to smear a cancer tumor with brilliant green and to put to her a plantain. Considering that we live on one planet, this tumor could sprout not only through ours, but also through the European borders.

On a change of 2013-2014 in Kiev there was an armed seizure of power by nationalistically oriented politicians supported by a number of the western states. It is senseless to deny it today. Equally as it is senseless to deny also that the citizens of the Ukrainian regions who didn't agree with policy of new heads of the country and wished self-determination as the new states were exposed to repressions by absolutely gangster methods.

For the expired eight years it became obvious: those who came on a muddy and bloody wave of the Maidan to the power in Kiev, neither residents of Donbass, nor inhabitants of the main part of the country, nor even Ukraine interest. Besides self-enrichment the causing the maximum damage of Russia and to Russian became their task. Neither about development of own country, nor they also thought of social support of the population.

Therefore, I consider, operation which our country performs in Ukraine isn't directed against this state, especially, against her people which took is dashing for last years. And it is hardly worth speaking in this situation about substitution of concepts. Our country, our people are too well familiar with Nazism and with Nazi quasi-public entities not to recognize the evil by his shape. Last time opposition with it cost us too high price, years of blood and a grief.

So was it worth it to let the tumor develop and mature? Let me remind you that at a recent meeting in Munich, President Zelensky of Ukraine threatened his country's withdrawal from the Budapest Memorandum and the creation of his own models of nuclear weapons. According to the head of Roscosmos Dmitry Rogozin, the country's scientific, industrial and resource potential made it possible to do this in a matter of months, and the director of the Foreign Intelligence Service Sergey Naryshkin says that Ukrainian military scientists relied on US assistance in this work. So should we have waited for nuclear missiles to fly to, say, Donetsk? And Moscow? I'm not sure about that at all.

Several million citizens of the Russian Federation live in the Donbass, who have the right to protect their country from shelling by both paramilitary Nazi groups, such as the infamous Azov regiment (an extremist organization banned in Russia), and the quite official Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Eight years! For eight long years, the leadership of our country tried by diplomatic methods to convince Kiev to stop the genocide in eastern Ukraine - and all these efforts were wasted. No diplomatic note, no memorandum will protect children and women from shells and bombs.

In fact, we were left with no choice but a military operation to protect Russian citizens both in the Donbass and (given the Nazi ideology of the Kiev regime plus the threat of its creation of nuclear weapons) on the territory of our country itself.

Such a right gives us, for example, Art. 51 Part 7 of the UN Charter. She reaffirms the inalienable right to individual or collective self-defense of a UN member state without the authorization of the organization and its Security Council.

In addition, the right to self-protection is enshrined both in the Constitution of the Russian Federation and in our legislation. Starting a special operation in Ukraine, the Russian leadership did not step back from either the letter or the spirit of these laws.

Many today are worried about the economic war - sanctions and restrictions imposed on Russia by the so-called "international community," less of it. But the countries that proclaimed themselves the vanguard of human civilization (on what basis is another question), for eight years supported the anti-Russian and anti-Russian policies of the Kiev Nazi-criminal regime, so why would they stop this support now?

It is likely that such support brought some benefit to individual representatives of the elites of these countries (recall at least the corruption scandal surrounding Hunter Biden and Burisma). Now, in an effort to maintain this benefit,

they intend to inflict a crushing blow on the entire Russian people indiscriminately.

Will this strike reach the target? In my opinion, this largely depends on ourselves, and it is clearly premature to talk about some consequences here. It is just as premature, in my opinion, to try to give some global estimates of what is happening.

Perhaps February 24, 2022 will be the starting point of the largest crisis in the history of the country. But the crisis is not only new threats, but also new opportunities. Will the Russian leadership be able to cope with this challenge? We will not receive an answer to this question tomorrow, and not in a couple of months - in years!

These days, a fair number of those who still "feel shame" for their country, who are "against war," have appeared. I propose to these people to raise archives in Ukraine since 2014, read and see what happened on the Maidan, in the Odessa House of Trade Unions on May 2, 2014, which happened for eight long years in the Donbass.

Frankly, I am not always delighted with the actions of representatives of the authorities at all levels, but I believe that it is too early to give assessments and hang labels. When you have to endure a serious fracture in the world order, it is best and most effective to keep your head clear and cold.

And, given the unfriendly actions of a coalition of states directed against us, which were considered our partners yesterday, we must probably not rush to conclusions, especially with labels.

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