Activist Daria Heikkinen — a former campaign official in Nadezhdin's 2024 presidential run — says Lithuania threatening to boot out Volkov for embracing neo-Nazi White Rex's (faked) death & criticizing top Ukrainian officials highlights how Europe & Kyiv force exiled oppositionists into irrelevance.
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Дарья Хейкинен (@kheikinend) on X
Слова Леонида Волкова о РДК и некоторых украинских чиновниках за неделю преврат...
I tend to agree. Opposition activists have little hope of connecting w/ constituents back home, even anti-war Russians, if they openly embrace Ukrainian forces — especially neo-Nazi paramilitary leaders — killing their compatriots. Silence is probably the safest option, but there are still drawbacks
The Volkov scandal is amusing because he framed his criticism of Rex and top officials in Kyiv as an endorsement of Ukraine's military effort, eg, ditch these losers, and Kyiv might win. This rhetoric — cancelable in Lithuania — is also toxic for Volkov's "Russian constituents."
Ultimately, I struggle to see today's exiled opposition ever returning to Russia and succeeding politically. The rhetoric required for their relocation to Europe has meant too much "treasonous" talk. So, their best case is probably to go all in on kill-the-Russians chants and assimilate.
