Navalny spoke about the borders of 1991 and the payment of compensation to Kyiv

On the website and social networks of the Russian oppositionist Alexei Navalny, who is in the colony, a 15-point text was published on his behalf, timed to the anniversary of the full-scale invasion of Russian troops into Ukraine. As the text says, this is a summary of Navalny’s political platform.

In the text, Navalny for the first time directly calls for the return of the annexed Crimea to Ukraine, and also advocates the payment of compensation to Kiev and the investigation of alleged war crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine.

He also advocates the European way of Russia’s development and the adoption of a new Constitution that would strengthen the role of the parliament.

As Navalny writes, President Putin “launched an unjust war of aggression against Ukraine under ridiculous pretexts.” The oppositionist believes that Putin failed to get the support of the majority of Russian citizens: “There are almost no volunteers for this war, so Putin’s army relies on prisoners and forcibly mobilized.” According to Navalny, “Russia is suffering a military defeat.”

Navalny proposes a return to the borders of Ukraine and Russia as of 1991, which means the return to Ukraine of Crimea and other annexed territories. Also, according to Navalny, it is necessary “together with Ukraine, the USA, the European Union and Britain to look for acceptable ways to compensate for the damage caused to Ukraine.” In particular, Navalny proposes to direct part of the income from the export of Russian hydrocarbons to this.

Navalny does not agree with the characterization of the Russian people as imperial and believes that the bearers of the imperial consciousness can be won in free elections. He sees the reforms as “the establishment of a parliamentary republic based on the transfer of power through fair elections, an independent judiciary, federalism, local self-government, full economic freedom and social justice.” Navalny also notes that Russia “must be part of Europe and follow the European path of development. We don’t have the second, and we don’t need the second.”

• For a long time, Navalny positioned himself as a national democrat, advocating, in particular, a visa regime with the countries of Central Asia or condemning Georgia in its conflict with Russia in 2008. Immediately after the annexation of Crimea in 2014, Navalny condemned it, but refused to call for the return of Crimea to Ukraine. In an interview with “Echo of Moscow” in 2014, Navalny said that Crimea will not return to Ukraine in the foreseeable future, and asserted that the peninsula is not a sandwich “to be transferred back and forth.” The text published today thus indicates a change in his position on this issue.
• Before the full-scale invasion of Russia into Ukraine, official Kyiv declared that it would fight for the peaceful return of Crimea, but now its position has changed. Ukraine insists that Russia must withdraw from the entire internationally recognized Ukrainian territory as a result of the war.