Embassy's reply to the article "An invisible enemy could scupper Putin’s constitutional coup plans" by Gerrit Olivier

We took note of the article by Gerrit Olivier “An Invisible Enemy Could Scupper Putin’s Constitutional Coup Plans” published in Business Day on 12 June 2020. What can we say? This is another mish-mash of anti-Russian fakes and innuendos. The main idea of the article, as far as we understand, is that President Putin allegedly self-isolated from resolving Covid-19 crisis & that it could ruin his “plans to stay in power”. As usual, no arguments provided. Instead, readers are left with stories about “practices of Soviet past” (Stalin’s disappearance “at the onset” of WWII) and Mikhail Kutuzov’s “escape to tundra” (sic!) in 1812. Mr.Olivier, firstly, he was a Field Marshal, secondly, there’s no “tundra” in Central Russia to escape to – it begins 1500 km to the North. Everything else in the article is handled with the same degree of “expertise”

And that, aside from threadbare fakes about “Russian invasions”, is the sole ground for Mr.Olivier to describe the upcoming constitutional vote – a purely democratic procedure, involving all Russian voters – as a “coup”. A strange “coup”, indeed. It may sound dramatic when one reads it in a newspaper, but it doesn’t answer the question – why even hold a referendum if, in Mr.Olivier’s own words, “ever-suffering” Russians are “used to oppression”, and “Russophobia and demonizing Putin” will only “strengthen his [President Putin’s] resolve”, (in other words, are not working)? For deception? Oh, yes, because Mr.Olivier believes that all Russians are inborn liars, who “obfuscate the truth, an old and typical Russian trait”. Doesn’t it sound Russophobic? Insulting the whole nation? We agree on one thing, Mr.Olivier, Russophobia & demonizing of Russia must be abandoned forever. We are glad that you said it yourself and we can only hope that one day you will follow your own advice.

Published on BusinessLive https://bit.ly/3hTfPpf