I think one lesson from history that we must never forget is that the appeasement of dictators never brings peace. It always leads to more aggression, more suffering, more wars, because dictators do not see compromise as an invitation to compromise back. They see it as a sign of weakness, and they become more aggressive.

Truth

I hope the message is “Putin sucks”

While Kara-Murza is one of the few somewhat humane members of the russian opposition (Ilya Yashin is a piece of shit and Navalniy and his thugs are racist, corrupt imperialists), like all of them he is completely delusional, refuses to recognize reality and keeps playing the victim.

He once again repeats the canard that it is impossible to measure public opinion in russia as an excuse for society’s broad support for the war. This is false, there are polling methods such as list experiments that account for preference falsification and they align with “regular” polls; a strong (if not overwhelming) majority of russians are genocidal imperialists.

But he also claims that somehow we should trust his statement that there are lots of people russia that are against the war because “hundreds of thousands” supported an allegedly anti-war candidate (what exactly is his “anti-war” position?).

He then goes on to say “reconciliation [between russians and Ukrainians] is possible” but a under different political regime. And how will this different regime come about? What are you doing to make it happen, Mr Kara-Murza?

I also don’t believe in reconciliation. My animosity towards all russian is permanent, but that’s just my personal opinion. Reconciliation would require that russians take ownership for their actions (it is their society that is responsible, it is not only putin that is a genocidal imperialist) and make a clear commitment to right the wrongs that they did (ending all russian occupation - not only in Ukraine, hundreds of thousands of russians prosecuted for war crimes and full financial compensation).

There is nothing to suggest this will happen. The russian have the capability to do this, there is nothing “inherent” about their genocidal imperialism. But they don’t want to do take ownership for their crimes.

Kara-Murza then goes on to claim that russia is on the precipice of change, without providing any specifics or explaining what the russian oppositions’ game plan is.

We then hear some typical russian victimhood narratives about how the west is to blame (ignoring that by early 90s russia was already engaged in imperialism in Moldova and Georgia).

Some more BS about how taking a sober attitude towards russia and recognizing that it is not only putin to blame is very wrong and “a gift to putin”.

The interviewer of course never challenges Kara-Murza in any substantive manner, as is typical with western media interviewing russian opposition.

Kara-Murza is the epitome of why the russian opposition is such a comical failure. Magical thinking, constant victimhood and zero desire to focus on the root cause of russian genocidal imperialism and authoritarianism.