Former militant leader Strelkov decides to compete with Putin for presidency

Igor Strelkov (Girkin), a former FSB officer and leader of the DPR [the Donetsk People’s Republic, a self-proclaimed and non-recognised state formation in Donetsk Oblast – ed.] who is currently under arrest in Russia, has announced that he will run for president in the upcoming presidential election. Strelkov believes he has a number of advantages over the terrorist state’s current leader, Vladimir Putin.

Source: Strelkov on Telegram

Details: Strelkov listed his advantages and Putin’s disadvantages, which looked a lot like criticism of the current Kremlin leader.

He stated that he was more competent militarily than Putin and his Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, so he would be able to "perform the duties of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief as the Russian Constitution stipulates".

In addition, Strelkov said, no world leader would be able to "lead him by the nose" as they did with Putin, because he never trusted them an inch.

He also blamed Putin for being led by the nose by the leaders of Russia's security forces, because neither the country, nor the army, nor Russian industry had been ready for the war and Ukraine was "not a straw man in military terms". Furthermore, no one has been dismissed from their posts.

Strelkov accused Putin of being unable to refuse anything to his billionaire friends who are moving their assets out of Russia. As a result, military production is growing much more slowly than Putin's friends' capital.

The former "DPR" leader noted that he has made no promises to anyone, unlike Putin, who has obligations towards those who brought him to power.

Finally, Strelkov assured potential voters that since he is not as physically fit as Putin, he would not be staying in power for over 20 years and "annoying the Russian people".

Background:

• On 21 July, the Meshchansky district court in Moscow detained Igor Girkin, a Russian pro-war nationalist and critic of the Russian authorities also known by his nom de guerre Igor Strelkov, on charges of "calls for extremism". He is due to remain in custody until 18 September.
• As of 23 July, Strelkov (Girkin) was being held in a two-man cell in the Lefortovo detention centre in Moscow. He has a TV and a fridge at his disposal and has already used the library.
• Strelkov was sentenced to life imprisonment in absentia by the District Court of The Hague after being found guilty of downing the Malaysian Airlines Boeing in August 2014. The court stated that Igor Girkin and two of his subordinates were "guilty of 298 counts of murder [i.e. the number of people on board the plane – ed.]".

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