A fighter against corruption Alexei Navalny, who intends to stand as a candidate in the presidential election next year, despite the refusal of the Central election Commission (it is said about the impossibility of its registration due to previous convictions), more than once debated with public figures. In March of this year he had a conversation with the host, Vladimir Pozner. Last year he was arguing with the head of RUSNANO Anatoly Chubais, who was one of the most influential people in the country under Boris Yeltsin. On Thursday, Alexei Navalny, whose presidential campaign is now exposed to police repression nationwide, spoke with Igor Strelkov (real name Girkin), former Russian military, which played a key role in the annexation of Crimea by Russia and the war in Pro-Russian separatist territories in Eastern Ukraine. The debate took place on air of TV channel “Rain” and was broadcast on the network.
No one wants to Express the support of the government
Igor Strelkov stressed that it never approved the post-Soviet Russian government and supported Putin in 2014, because he thought he organizes a revolution from above with the annexation of Crimea and assistance to the separatists from Donetsk and Lugansk. However, in the spring of 2015 he has lost faith in Putin, seeing that the “revolution” never took place. He made the criticism of Chechen policies of the President. Shooters called anti-corruption program Bulk “cosmetic” reforms and accused the main opposition leader that he aspires to the presidency only to continue the policies of Vladimir Putin and Boris Yeltsin.
Navalny, in turn, said that his reforms will bring the country fair courts, free elections and the diversification of the economy, will put an end to stupid government decisions and illegal accumulation of wealth. He also reminded viewers about the monarchist views of strelkov.
Blaming the West is wrong
Igor Strelkov is sure that the rest of the world against the emergence of a strong and sovereign Russia, and even believes Putin and the Russian oligarchy puppets of the West.
Navalny disagreed with the idea of a world conspiracy against Russia, noting that international competition is a perfectly normal thing. According to him, the main enemy of Russia — not the West, and its own political leadership. Navalny has also supported the Western sanctions against several sectors of the economy and oligarchs with ties to Putin, Strelkov saying that the Russians should pay more attention to internal problems.
The war in Ukraine is a test for Russian patriotism
During the discussion of the war in Ukraine, Navalny focused on domestic issues, arguing that the conflict is not primarily a war of liberation and not fight the invasion, and a heavy burden for the Russian budget. “The war that you started, is an expensive thing, which destroys the Russian economy”, — he said Strelkov. According to him, it is impossible to continue to Fund the war if 20 million Russians live below the poverty line.
In response to the question of the audience of Shooters refused to take responsibility for the disaster of flight MH17 Malaysia Airlines in July 2014, when he was Minister of defence self-proclaimed Donetsk people’s Republic. The former commander of the rebels said that his soldiers did not have the necessary weapons to shoot down the airliner.
Gunmen in turn, warned that the proposal by Navalny on the return of the Ukrainian army’s control over the Eastern border could result in a new wave of migrants and to threaten Russian sovereignty in Crimea. He considers the war between Russia and Ukraine is inevitable and I am sure that offer the Bulk of the boundary is equivalent to “treason” against Putin’s new Russia.
In response, Navalny challenged the nationalistic references of the rifle and accused him of working for the FSB despite the fact that the Russian nationalists themselves sent to prison, and the Russian population would be expelled from Uzbekistan and Chechnya. Strelkov denied the accusations, citing his military career in Chechnya and the insurgency in Transnistria.
