Translated by Valeria D’Alessandro
European Parliament calls for measures against Russian interference
On February 8th, the European Parliament adopted a resolution demanding measures to block Russia's attempts to interfere with the EU's decision-making processes.
The measure was adopted following allegations against Latvian MEP Tatjana Ždanoka, who represents the Russian minority in Latvia. She was accused in a joint journalistic investigation of being an agent of Moscow's secret services.
In the resolution, it is also highlighted that this is not an isolated case. More MEPs are consciously serving Russia’s interests. It is stressed that, by violating national norms, the Russian Federation has found ways to provide parties, movements, and political figures with significant funding in several EU countries. This is achieved through the concession of loans, commercial agreements, and by facilitating financial activities.
Influences through European Parties
According to the measure, the beneficiaries of these economic advantages were: the French Front National in 2016, the Lega per Salvini premier in 2019, and the campaign Leave.eu campaign before Brexit.
Several concrete pieces of evidence of the explicit interference of the Russian Federation in EU member democratic spaces have been brought to light, including disinformation campaigns and corrupt systems. This fact has raised concerns regarding the European elections in 2024, which will also be a primary target in the Kremlin’s agenda.
Among the attempts to interfere, the resolution highlights the dissemination of “pre-packaged narratives” provided to far-right parties in Germany and France, with the aim of undermining public support for Ukraine. Additionally, it mentions the 'presumed relations' between the Russian government and the Catalan independence movement.
All of this fits into the framework of a wider strategy aimed at damaging, creating confusion, weakening, and dividing the Member States, as well as attacking not only their democratic functioning but also the functioning of the EU’s institutions. Before and after February 24th, Moscow is tenaciously trying to jeopardize the integrity of the democratic decision-making processes of the Member States and the EU's institutions.
Thirty years at power: the stagnant Russian dance
Between March 15th and 17th, the presidential election will be held in the Russian Federation. The vote is considered by many as a mere formality before Putin's reelection.
In 1986, at the beginning of his career as leader of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev initiated political reforms, including the release of political prisoners and internal exiles.
In 2024, the inevitable reconfirmation of Putin to power—for a new six-year mandate, marking the completion of his 30th year in office—comes after the death of Alexey Navalny.
For more than two decades, political murder has been an essential part of Putin’s repressive tools. However, there is a silent rule in Moscow's authoritarian regime that states that political opponents living abroad essentially receive tacit approval from Russian authorities to live. Why is this? Because emigrating clips their wings: there is no direct contact with the population, with Russia, with its citizens anymore.
The Man Putin couldn't kill
On January 17th, 2021 – a few months after being poisoned with novichok and undergoing prompt rehabilitation in Germany – Navalny chose to return to his homeland and openly challenge the Kremlin’s occupants. He made this choice with audacity and irony. But there should be no saints or martyrs in a country where citizens are treated with respect. Instead, their presence is synonymous with an increasingly ruthless and authoritarian regime. The tangible manifestation of the paranoia of a man who has been ruling for almost a quarter of a century. Power can consume not only those subjected to it but also those who have held it for too long and are unwilling to relinquish it. His power is based on corruption and lies: this is what Navalny has repeatedly shown to Russian society over the past twenty years. A society that has often been apathetic, uninterested, and misinformed, thus making it an accomplice to the sanguinary and corrupt policies of the Kremlin.
Navalny decided to confront Putin, as one should not fear something one does not respect. Even from jail, or confined in the Arctic Circle, he continued to fight by interfering with the presidential election campaign and denouncing Russian aggression in Ukraine.
In the end, Navalny had nothing left, yet he continued to wield his power: how? By exposing the corruption and hypocrisy of the regime. Because nothing is more powerful than the truth. But at what cost?
The Russian opposition is now losing one of its most recognizable figures, both in Russia and abroad. A charismatic leader with a tragic stature, capable of challenging the concept of 'managed democracy'. According to this concept, only one strong man should lead the country, implement economic reforms, and be responsible for the material well-being of the citizens. A man capable of creating a political organization of national opposition, with a strong regional presence, and able to appeal to multiple segments of the Russian population. With the faint hope that all of this will not be in vain.
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L'Autore
Giuliana Băruș
Studi in Giurisprudenza e Diritto Internazionale a Trieste.
Oltre che di Diritto (e di diritti), appassionata di geopolitica, giornalismo – quello lento, narrativo, che racconta storie ed esplora mondi – fotoreportage, musica underground e cinema indipendente.
Da sempre “permanently dislocated – un voyageur sur la terre” – abita i confini, fisici e metaforici, quelle patrie elettive di chi si sente a casa solo nell'intersezionalità di sovrapposizioni identitarie: la realtà in divenire si vede meglio agli estremi che dal centro. Viaggiare per scrivere – soprattutto di migrazioni, conflitti e diritti – e scrivere per viaggiare, alla ricerca di geografie interiori per esplorarne l’ambiguità e i punti d’ombra creati dalla luce.
Nel 2023, ha viaggiato e vissuto in quattro paesi diversi: Romania, sua terra d'origine, Albania, Georgia e Turchia.
Affascinata, quindi, dallo spazio post-sovietico dell'Europa centro-orientale; dalla cultura millenaria del Mediterraneo; e dalle sfaccettate complessità del Medio Oriente.
In Mondo Internazionale Post è autrice per la sezione “Organizzazioni Internazionali”.
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Elezioni europee 2024 #European Parliament Unione Europea Russia Navalny