(ConservativeInsider.org) – From 2007 to 2016, Ilya Ponomarev was a member of the Russian Parliament, serving his nation to try and boost Russia’s economy and bring about more democratic change. He made history in 2014 when he voted against President Vladimir Putin’s annexation of Crimea, which eventually lead to his exile in Ukraine, where he became a citizen. Now, on top of writing books and organizing a group attempting to write a constitution for Russia to become a democracy, Ponomarev told Newsweek that he thinks Putin will not make it to 2024.
On Wednesday, January 11, Newsweek published excerpts from an interview with Ponomarev in an article detailing the potential fall of Putin’s regime. The exiled Russian emphasized how the president’s power has resided for decades in his ability to appear “invincible” to his people and peers. However, his almost year-long war in Ukraine has shown he is not invincible anymore.
Putin will not live to see 2024, says exiled Russian official https://t.co/SqjFwhU7D8
— Newsweek (@Newsweek) January 11, 2023
Ponomarev believes someone will kill Putin before he turns 71 next October. He did note, though, he would rather see the leader in The Hague, which hosts the International Criminal Court (ICC) for people accused of war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity.
Ponomarev’s reasoning for this being unlikely is that any testimony from Putin about his own crimes would likely incriminate Russians in his inner circle who do not want their dirty laundry hung out for the world to see. So instead, the Russian exile thinks one of these men will likely see to Putin’s assassination.
While there is a chance Putin could humble himself and step down from power, Ponomarev predicts “a more radical revolutionary scenario.” Personally, the opposition figure would like to see Russia turned into a democracy. He is currently working with the First Congress of People’s Deputies of Russia in Poland to construct a way for the nation to become one where the power is in the hands of the people, not the oligarchs.
But only time will tell if Russia and its people are able to make that happen.
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