History tells us that high-level officials in the Russian government often don’t make it out alive after they disavow the powers that be. Whether that be Lenin, Stalin, Gorbachev, or Putin — Russian leaders don’t take fondly to detractors.
That’s precisely why it’s newsworthy to westerners when those close to Putin decide to jump ship. It’s only a matter of time before they’re somehow assassinated.
However, it is quite humorous that the advisor who abandoned Putin this week just so happens to be his “climate czar”. The only nation that believes in western climate obsession less than China is probably Russia, so the fact that Putin had a “climate czar” just goes to show how fantastical the environmental battle really is.
On Wednesday, news broke that Russian climate czar Anatoly Chubais rejected Putin’s war against Ukraine and has since left the country. Chubais also served as Putin’s special representative for ties to international organizations and NGOs.
“He was appointed to the post, which was charged with ‘achieving goals of sustainable development,’ in 2020, days after resigning as the head of state technology firm RUSNANO, which he had run since 2008,” Reuters stated.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said confirmed Chubais’ resignation but did not specify if he left Russia.
“Yes. Chubais resigned of his own free will. But whether he left or did not leave, that’s his business,” Peskov told the news agency.
Chubais is known as the mastermind behind Russia’s 1990s privatizations, which afforded Putin his first job in the post-Soviet Kremlin. Under Putin, Chubais took top jobs at big state companies until the president named him envoy for sustainable development last year.
Chubais reportedly announced his resignation on Tuesday and has since fled Russia. He reportedly was not a member of Putin’s inner circle of pro-war military chiefs, but his advice was tangentially considered by the Russian President.
On March 16, Putin raged, “Any people, and particularly the Russian people, will always be able to tell the patriots from the scum and traitors and spit them out like a midge that accidentally flew into their mouths.” He continued, “I am convinced that this natural and necessary self-cleansing of society will only strengthen our country, our solidarity, cohesion and readiness to meet any challenge.”
Putin’s language in his rambling TV speech today on “scums and traitors” and how to deal with them start to approach the language of the times of the purges of Stalin. This will not end well. pic.twitter.com/cnSnwtiwyS
— Carl Bildt (@carlbildt) March 16, 2022
Conversely, Joe Biden has not once defended the United States and instead signals undying loyalty to world governments and NATO.
Author: Elizabeth Tierney
