The so-called presidential election of 15-17 March 2024 is another charade that aims to portray the loyalty of the Russian people to a person making borderless efforts to sustain a repressive war movement in the Russian Federation.

Politico.eu nailed well by calling it the Potiomkin election. Indeed, this is more of a ritual, which under a camouflage of electoral process aims to cement the Kremlin regime with war-mongering, culture of death and the cult of tyranny.

The West and the EU urgently needs a strategy to confront this rise of repressive war mashinery. Navalny’s left us his vision of another Russia, beautiful Russia of the future, and if we want a chance to see it, we first have to endorse it. The EU has many instruments and a geopolitical responsibility to do that.

At the European Parliament the rapporteurs have negotiated and produced the report on EU-Russia relations which avaits the vote at the Foreign Affairs Committee. The Standing Repporteur has made it clear that the report has to be voted as soon as possible. By doing this, the EU and the West can and must propose an alternative to Putin’s machine that uses the Russian people as a mere resource of war.

There is a majority against Putin in Russia and there is a majority for a normal democracy in Russia. The Kremlin understands it well and therefore is using the electoral charade to hide the silent majority and to erase a hope for having a European way of life in Russia.

Europe, the West can and must do more to defend Navalny’s vision, to defend and promote democracy in Russia. The EU can endorse Navalny’s Russia as an alternative to the Kremlin.