Putin Has Cancer - For Russians opposed to the Ukraine war, Putin has a cruel warning. The Russian president's references to the "cleansing" of "scum and traitors" evoked chilling memories of the mass arrests of the Stalin era, when repression was justified to "cleanse" Soviet society.
On March 13, police officers in central Moscow detained a woman during a protest against Russian military action in Ukraine. AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Putin Has Cancer
The Kremlin on Thursday doubled down on President Vladimir Putin's recent claims that Russian society would benefit from what he called a "cleansing" of "robbers and traitors" aligned with the West in his criticism of the war in the Ukraine.
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The reference evoked chilling memories of Stalin-era mass arrests - when repression was justified to "cleanse" Soviet society of traitors - and followed new laws criminalizing criticism of what the Kremlin called its "special military operation" in the Ukraine mention.
Russia has seen an exodus of political activists, journalists, celebrities and entrepreneurs critical of the war or fearful of its consequences.
In comments on Wednesday, Putin lashed out at Russians who - the Kremlin leader claimed - were "spiritually" aligned with the West amid the Ukraine crisis. Putin said their real goal was to work with the "collective West" to destroy Russia from within.
Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting of the Security Council via teleconference on March 3. Andrei Gorshkov/Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
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"The Russian people will always be able to distinguish true patriots from scum and traitors and simply spit them out like a mosquito that accidentally flew into their mouth," Putin said.
"I am convinced that such a natural and necessary cleansing of society will only strengthen our country, our solidarity, togetherness and readiness to respond to any challenges," he said in comments more broadly related to Russia 's efforts to counter Western sanctions.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov tried to explain Putin's comments on Thursday, saying they were aimed at Russians who somehow left the country during a time of need.
"In such difficult times ... many people show their true colors." Many people show themselves, as we say in Russian, as traitors," Peskov said in a conversation with journalists.
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Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov met with reporters after Putin's annual press conference in Moscow in December. Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
"They themselves disappear from our lives," he added, noting: "Some people leave their positions. Some leave the active working life. Some leave the country and move to other countries. This is how this cleansing happens."
In the three weeks since Putin's decision to send Russian troops to Ukraine, thousands of Russians have fled their country - heading to Turkey, Georgia, Armenia and elsewhere - both in protest at the military campaign and fearing a political showdown.
A new Russian law began this month to criminalize the spread of "fake news," or public statements deemed to disparage the Russian armed forces.
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Since the incursion began on February 24, police have detained around 15,000 Russians, mostly during anti-war protests, according to the Russian independent human rights group OVD-Info. Some were also fired from their jobs or expelled from universities for criticizing the mission.
Russian authorities have already charged dozens of people with administrative offenses under the new law. The alleged perpetrators include a priest in the western Russian region of Kostroma who preached a sermon against hate and a young woman in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk who painted the words "no war" in the snow next to a statue of the founder of the Soviet state, Vladimir, carved. Lenin.
The first criminal charges followed this week, including Veronika Belotserkovskaya, a Russian cookbook author, socialite and blogger living in Europe, who criticized the war to her online followers.
The Committee for the Defense of National Interests has also started publishing online a list of Russians who have left the country - calling them "cowards and deserters."
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Artyom, a liberal political activist in Tbilisi, Georgia, says he fled Russia after neighbors warned him that masked police were waiting outside his apartment. He asked that his full name not be used out of fear for the safety of family members still in Russia.
"I didn't have a chance to tell anyone I was going, because it was too dangerous," he says. "I still have a dog and a cat at home, and that's the hardest part. Because I can tell my friends and family what happened, but the dog won't understand."
Anna, a Russian writer who also asked that only her first name be used, says she fled to Turkey with her family after realizing her outspoken criticism of the Kremlin and attending an anti-war protest left her vulnerable. make for arrest.
"I remember my grandmother telling me about the fear of life under Stalin," she says. "I remember her saying: 'You can't imagine the fear. Well, now I've felt it and I don't want my child to ever experience something like that."
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Russian prima ballerina Olga Smirnova announced on Wednesday that she will be leaving the world-renowned Bolshoi Ballet to join the Dutch National Ballet. In a post on the Telegram messaging app, Smirnova said Russians "cannot remain indifferent to this global disaster."
Russian ballerina Olga Smirnova, seen here in 2015, said in a Telegram post that Russians "cannot remain indifferent to this global catastrophe." She also announced this week that she is leaving the Bolshoi Ballet to join the Dutch National Ballet. Valerie Hache/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Rapper Okkimiron, one of Russia's biggest stars known for his political statements, canceled a series of sold-out shows in Russia and played an anti-war concert in Istanbul on Tuesday. Since then, he has announced additional "Russians Against the War" demonstrations in Europe and pledged to send the proceeds to Ukrainian refugees.
On Russia's main state-run Channel One, a woman's protest interrupted the evening news this week. Marina Ovsiannikova, the editor who burst onto the screen with an anti-war, anti-propaganda poster, is awaiting investigation.
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Several prominent correspondents have since reportedly resigned from the state-backed channels. One of the stars of Channel One - popular late-night talk show host Ivan Urgant - found his show on an unexpected hiatus after he publicly opposed the war.
Two of the richest Russians spoke out against the invasion of Ukraine: billionaires Oleg Deripaska and Mikhail Friedman, who both have residences in London.
In fact, disloyalty — not wealth — was very much on Putin's mind in his "clean-up" speech on Wednesday.
"I do not in the least condemn those who have villas in Miami or on the French Riviera, who cannot do without foie gras, oysters or sexual freedom, as they call it," said the Russian leader.
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"The problem, again, is that a lot of these people are basically out there in their minds, not here with our people and with Russia." Vladimir Putin is not the most mentally sound person in the world right now, and that's no secret. His lack of empathy since the beginning of this war is more characteristic of a callous tyrant than a person belonging to this century.
Now, in addition to his psychological problems, of which there seem to be many, there have been theories about his health on a more physiological level for weeks, as he hears harsh words like cancer around him.
To what extent is it true? According to various Russian media such as Proekt, which is completely censored by the Russian government, the Kremlin leader has been suffering from thyroid cancer and another serious illness for years.
In support of this thesis, the medium provided several documents, including numerous visits by specialist doctors to his home on the Black Sea.
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According to media sources, the Russian president has been treated for years for both thyroid cancer and Parkinson's disease. These two ailments have kept him somewhat out of the public eye lately, despite the firmness of his decisions, which are delegated to his chief representatives and advisers.
So the Project claims that Putin was visited up to 35 times by Russian health specialists, including an ear, nose and throat specialist, and Yevgeny Selivanov, a surgeon.
Two years ago, during a televised meeting, Putin suffered a severe coughing fit that prevented him from breathing for more than a minute. A fact that did not go unnoticed, because on the same occasion the Russian leader publicly showed an interest in thyroid cancer. Coincidence? Maybe not.
On the other hand, Valery Solovey, former head of the Public Relations Department of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, said last February that Putin "may have symptoms compatible" with both thyroid cancer and Parkinson's disease.
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Despite all these well-founded theories, the Kremlin continues to refute any scenario or reality that undermines its leader.
Moreover, Dmitry Peskov himself, the press secretary of the Kremlin, recently denied all reports on this issue and assured that the state of health of the Russian leader is "excellent". Rumors have swirled about President Vladimir Putin's health for months, but a new email leak may have just confirmed it. The sun has just discovered a
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