In a letter from the colony, Navalny condemned the figures of the 90s and compromises with the authorities

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, in his first written appeal from prison after his sentence in the case of extremism – 19 years of a special regime – condemned the policy pursued by Boris Yeltsin and his entourage in the 1990s, asserting that it did not contribute to building in the country of democracy, and, on the contrary, led to the coming to power of Vladimir Putin, the flowering of corruption in Russia and the establishment of a dictatorship.

Navalny had previously often criticized the figures of the 90s, but for the first time he spoke so categorically, actually accusing Yeltsin and the so-called reformers of being at the origin of the current regime.

“I fiercely, furiously hate those who sold, drank, squandered the historic chance that our country had in the early nineties. I hate Yeltsin from “Tanya and Vale” (Yeltsina’s daughter Tatiana Dyachenko and her husband Valentin Yumashev – RS), Chubais and the rest of the sales family that put Putin in power. I hate swindlers, whom we called reformers for some reason. Now it is as clear as day that they were not concerned with anything except intrigues and their own well-being… I hate the authors of the stupidest authoritarian constitution, which was instilled in us, idiots, as a democratic one, already then gave the president the powers of a full-fledged monarch”, – it is said in in particular, in a letter published in Navalny’s accounts on social networks. He also stated that the 1996 presidential elections were falsified. “It is not with Putin in 2011, but with Yeltsin, Chubais, oligarchs and the entire Komsomol party gang , which called itself “democrats”, we did not go to Europe in 1994, but to Central Asia,” Navalny expressed his opinion.

According to the oppositionist, the attitude towards the policy pursued by Yeltsin’s entourage in the 1990s is “the most important and most urgent question of the political strategy of all supporters of the European path and democratic development.” In particular, he called for showing principles in relation to the representatives of the current Russian authorities and intolerance to corruption. In addition, he criticized Ksenia Sobchak, Alexey Venediktov, Mikhail Khodorkovsky and a number of other figures who, in his opinion, either act unprincipled or directly act in the interests of the authorities, despite the opposition’s rhetoric.

Navalny’s letter sparked a lively discussion on social networks. Alexey Venediktov wrote that he still considers Navalny a political prisoner, and the editor-in-chief of “Novaya Gazeta. Evropa” Kirill Martynov criticized the letter for factual errors and suggested that it was not written by Navalny.

Alexey Navalny is serving a 9-year term on charges of fraud in a colony in the Vladimir Region. Last week, the Moscow City Court handed him a new sentence – 19 years in a special regime colony on the charge of creating an extremist community. Navalny calls his persecution political, human rights defenders and representatives of Western countries share the same opinion. The new sentence has not yet entered into force.

Navalny’s associates claim that he is the author of all the publications that appear in his social media accounts.