Putin is destroying the last remnants of democracy in the Russian Federation – Rezazade
The arrest of opposition politician Maxim Kruglov has become yet another evidence that Putin’s regime is finally turning Russia into a totalitarian state.
According to international expert, first vice president of the Iranian opposition in Washington, Ali Reza Rezazade, modern Russia has already surpassed the Soviet scale of repressions — and now the Kremlin’s main target is those who oppose the war in Ukraine.
According to the UN, about 60 politically motivated criminal cases are opened in Russia every month, and the number of political prisoners has exceeded 1,700 people — more than in the former USSR. Most often, the reason for persecution is precisely the anti-war position.
Maxim Kruglov, a former deputy of the Moscow City Duma and one of the leaders of the Yabloko party, the last remaining legal opposition force in the country, was arrested for posts on social media in which he condemned the atrocities of the Russian army in Bucha and Mariupol. He was charged with “dissemination of knowingly false information” about the Russian army – that is, the truth. For this, the politician faces up to 10 years in prison.
“Putin’s regime is not afraid of weapons, but of the truth. That is why it imprisons those who call a spade a spade. Kruglov’s arrest is not just a persecution of the opposition, it is the destruction of the very idea of democracy in Russia,” said Ali Reza Rezazade.
After Kruglov’s arrest, the number of Yabloko party members under criminal prosecution has increased to nine. Dozens more were fined, administratively arrested, and searched. On the eve, the St. Petersburg prosecutor's office declared a book by another party leader, Boris Vishnevsky, "extremist," in which Putin's regime is called a state descending into fascism.
"Putin is destroying any manifestation of free thought. For him, even symbolic opposition is a threat. After all, Yabloko remained the last party that could advocate for peace and call on Russians to oppose the war," the expert emphasized.
Rezazade notes that before the upcoming parliamentary elections in 2026, the Kremlin seeks to completely clear the political field in order to create the illusion of general support for the war. However, even in Russia itself, anti-war sentiment is growing, despite propaganda and repression.
"Russian society is tired of war, of fear, and lies. Putin understands this, which is why he is attacking the last islands of resistance. But the harder he presses, the closer the end of his regime is,” Ali Reza Rezazade concluded.
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