Moscow, August 4, 2014
AFP Photo / Roberto Escobar
Veterans of the Russian military and special forces, together with rights activists and representatives of the Orthodox Christian community, are to jointly launch a group to try to thwart any attempts to forcefully change the political system in the country, reports Rt.com.
Immediately after the founding convention, scheduled for late August, the ‘Anti-Fascist Anti-Maidan Council’ will concentrate on informing Russian citizens of the methods of Western propaganda that seeks to disrupt constitutional order in the country and forcefully overthrow the lawfully elected authorities, the activists told the mass circulation daily Izvestia.
The council’s founders claim they possess information that after the upcoming all-Russian Election Day on September 14, anti-government activists will launch their own committees and headquarters for organizing street protest and other actions aimed at sowing discord in the Russian community.
Apart from disclosing the objectives and means of Western propaganda, the council will organize its own rallies and events in order to promote the interests of the Russian state and prevent ethnic tensions in the Russian regions (provinces).
The body will also work to help law enforcers who fight against extremism and other anti-constitutional attempts.
Leading members of the group include Yury Kalitov, deputy head of the Special Forces-Army Special Forces group, uniting the veterans of Russian military intelligence; Major General Leonid Shershnev, head of the ‘Russians’ Foundation; Valentin Lebedev, the chairman of the Union of Russian Orthodox citizens of Russia; and advisor to State Duma deputy Viktor Vodolatsky (United Russia), who also represents the major South Russian Cossack organization, the Don Troop.
Analysts have labeled the initiative correct and timely, noting that the current events in Ukraine are a perfect example of where ‘Orange Revolutions’ could lead.
“We understand very well that the Ukrainian conflict is not just an internal event, but a point of application for all forces in the world that have declared a secret war against Russia,” said the head of the Institute of Eurasian Economic Union, Vladimir Lepekhin, who was also invited to participate in the Anti-Maidan Council.
He noted that the recent appointment of former US Ambassador to Ukraine, Georgia and Lithuania, John Tefft, as a new ambassador to Russia could be a sign that the information war will move on to Russian territory.
The head of the Institute of Political Research, Sergey Markov, agreed that though there was no immediate threat of revolution in Russia, the future situation was not safe, as the “party of war” in Washington was not hiding its desire to repeat the Kiev scenario in Moscow.
Markov also noted that the new anti-fascist committee should study the statements of leading politicians and activists in order to establish their attitude towards the Ukrainian crisis and duly inform the Russian public about the results of this study. He noted that those who had not resolutely denounced the coup in Ukraine and the current policy of terror towards civilians could be among the first to support anti-constitutional attempts in Russia.
