Vladimir Milošević

An interesting quote from Vladimir Kara-Murza on Vladimir Putin’s apparent dwindling support in the Levada opinion polls, however the implausible fantasy of charging the president with crimes is a strong motivation to simply stay in power.

“We … do not have opposition. We have a group of bribed weaklings and blackmailed profiteers and thieves, who take advantage of the times when a lot of people experience hardships, and use substantial financial resources funneled from abroad.” This could well have been said by Vladimir Putin. In fact, it comes from a speech by Slobodan Milošević, then president of Yugoslavia, on February 17, 2000. On September 24, a rigged presidential election provoked protests across the country, culminating in the October 5 mass demonstration in Belgrade that ended with the storming of parliament. On October 7, Mr. Milošević resigned. On April 1, 2001, he was arrested by Serbian police, and on June 28 transferred to a three-by-five-meter prison cell at the Scheveningen detention unit near The Hague. No truncheons could save his regime. No truncheons will save Mr. Putin’s.