Well-known Russian journalist and blogger Arkady Babchenko was recently forced to leave his homeland due to intensified persecution. Authorities of the Russian Federation consider Babchenko to be the "fifth column" and press him in every possible way, trying to silence. Babchenko himself says that he does not associate himself with Russia for a long time, but until recently he did not intend to leave.

"Observer" talked with Arkady Babchenko in Skype. We publish the second part of the interview. Read the first part here..

- Is Russia possible without Putin in the foreseeable future?.

In the medium term, I think not. Putin is 64 years old, for his years he is in remarkable shape, and medicine in the 21st century has achieved such success in extending the terms and improving the quality of life, that he can live as much as. Here is Comrade Mugabe (the permanent president of Zimbabwe - Red. ) - he is 92 years old, next year he goes to the polls, and, of course, they will win. With Putin it will be the same. That is, Vladimir Vladimirovich is for a long time. Economic collapse did not happen, the sanctions did not lead to those consequences that could seriously affect the situation; Oil costs $ 50 per barrel. Under such conditions, this regime can exist for decades. It will decay for a long time, like the USSR, but in the end it will really rot. And there will be another explosion, either the 17th or the 91st year, or the Pugachevshchina, a riot senseless and ruthless.

- Do you think Putin will not even put himself in the place of some formal deputy, as he did last time with Dmitry Medvedev?.

What's the difference? These are nuances. Maybe he will put Medvedev instead of himself, maybe he will arrange a monarchy in Russia. Perhaps, like Erdogan, he will announce that he will be called president, but for life and without limitations of authority.

- Why did Ukraine succeed in dropping Yanukovych, while in Russia mass protests were drowned in 2012?.

I dont know. I still ask people who called themselves leaders of the protest: "Why did you guys take the people to the pen?". I literally crawled across the square on my knees with Eduard Veniaminovich Limonov, begging people not to leave, but to sit down there, light up the bonfires and stay until our demands are met. Then there was a unique situation: Putin is de facto not the president, And Medvedev sent signals, they say, let's guys, I'll support you, I want to become king myself! The army and militia are beggars, embittered, ready to go over to the side of protesters. Plus completely herbivorous legislation, according to which for calls to extremism, a fine of one thousand rubles. Just take it and do it!.

And there was no question of Putin's overthrow. These were protests related to the elections to the State Duma. And after all, it was possible to achieve re-elections. And if we succeeded, there would be no hegemony in Russia. Putin would probably have remained in power, but he would have been kept in a much narrower framework; The possibilities for dictatorship would be limited. And now everything, the train has left. It is possible, of course, to hold rallies against corruption, but, as for me, the corruption of Dmitry Medvedev is far from the most important crime of this power.

- Do you think that Putin adequately assesses the current situation - in Russia, in Ukraine? Sometimes it seems that he is not completely mentally healthy.

In my opinion, this person lives in his own world. I do not know whether he is mentally ill or not; I think he's paranoid, but when they come to power, everyone becomes paranoid, that's understandable. But the fact that he does not own the situation is exactly. In Russia there are rumors that he does not know how to use the Internet, and he is given information in his daddy, on paper. I think this may be true. How to inform him, what he is informed about, in what information field he lives, from what data he proceeds, making decisions, is absolutely incomprehensible. Obviously, this person does not want to hear bad news.

And most importantly, he is obsessed with the super-hero of imperial Russia, imperial greatness. He is a man of the nineteenth century. If Putin was a king in the XIX century, he would have legends about him. It would be the greatest of kings. But now the XXI century, now no one conquers the territory, no one wars for bread. In addition to Putin. He dreams that his name will go down in history alongside Napoleon and Hannibal.

- Do you think that personal enrichment for him is not in the first place?.

It was in the first place in the first years of his ten years in power. They say that this man just loves money. But by now, Putin has already received everything that can be obtained. US experts say that if "banned" all accounts of the president of the Russian Federation, all the assets that he controls, it will cause serious problems to the global financial sector. He just can not get rich anymore. And here, of course, the power comes to the forefront. He is now sick with power and greatness. Comrade Stalin walked in the same overcoat without signs of differences, and Vladimir Vladimirovich, it seems to me, is moving along the same path.

"We had a very popular idea here that someone would eventually kill Putin. Perhaps their own.

We in Russia, too, went to such talk. It was believed that the collapse of the ruble would provoke a riot in the environment of Putin's surrounding oligarchs. But, as you can see, nothing like this has happened and it will not happen, I think. He very tightly controls his own circle, no rebellion or coup there will be.

"Why did they kill Nemtsov?".

Here the version is accepted that it was a gift to Putin, a desire to curry favor with him. It was not necessary for Vladimir Vladimirovich himself, the murder of Boris Yefimovich brought much more harm to Putin than the benefits. I think this is amateur performance, the excess of performers on the ground.

- Who do you mean as the customer of the murder?.

You see, the investigation "does not know" who the customer is. And I, maybe, still will return to Russia, therefore I can not name the customer though everyone perfectly understand, who it.

- Why do you think that Europe and the whole civilized country so weakly supported Ukraine in the war that Russia unleashed?.

I must admit that I expected that Ukraine itself will be more active in supporting itself. You remember when the war began, only a few thousand people went to the front. In Ukraine, more than 40 million. Population, but restrained the aggression of Russia at best ten thousand.

As for Europe - yes, I certainly expected that Europe would support Ukraine much more, and even introduce its troops. I was, in this sense, a romantic. Vladimir Putin has calculated Europe before and more accurately than the rest. Europe again chose to stay away, here he guessed. Why should any Holland or Belgium need to fight for Ukraine? Okay, I understand, to intercede for Estonia, which has 1.5 million inhabitants, but in Ukraine there are more than 40 million! And these 40 million do not show a willingness to defend their country. In that case, why should other countries send their people to ruin?.

This is one point. And the second point - Europe was always interested only in Europe, its own well-being. Similarly, it was before the Second World War, they also pulled to the last, tried to negotiate with Hitler. I now sit in Prague, I look at this Prague life, on beer, on the well-groomed streets ... Here to people it is absolutely not clear, why they should risk the well-being. For them, there is neither Donbass nor Syria. It's all in the newspapers, in the news, but in reality they are not, for Europeans it's all the "Chronicles of Narnia".

- Is their confidence in their own security justified? Is the third world war possible?.

In this regard, I am an optimist, I hope that the third world will not be. Perhaps Russia will get some more piece of land for itself, maybe it will conquer Eastern Kazakhstan or get into Belarus in 15 years, I admit it. But I strongly doubt that the war will acquire a global scale.

- How do you assess the level of Russian weapons? Could she achieve something by fighting with NATO?.

Russia has a strong army, a huge amount of money is invested in it, now it is being modernized, rearmament. The army is now motivated, ready to go into battle. But this is not even the main resource. The main resource of Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin is the 140 millionth country in which 80% of the population are ready to send their children to die anywhere for anything.

- Do you think that 86% of Putin's support is a real number?.

I think the real support is about 50-60%, and on the issue of Crimea - indeed more than 80%. But it's not even that, the fact is that no one will ask them. In the Second World, someone asked? They drove and everything. And if it will be necessary, they will again chase. But, as I said, in the perspective of a big war, I do not believe.

All photos from the page of Arkady Babchenko in Facebook.

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