The Duma called the deputy’s words about the extermination of 20% of Russians a “figure of speech.”

The Ethics Commission of the State Duma called “personal opinion” and “figure of speech” the proposal of deputy Andrey Gurulev to “destroy” 20% of Russians who do not trust President Putin.

Gurulyov exercised his “inalienable right” to express his opinion and personal position, believes the head of the commission Valentina Tereshkova.

Tereshkova’s reply was published in the Telegram channel of the “Vesna” movement, whose subscribers massively appealed to the parliamentary ethics commission, demanding that measures be taken against Gurulyov.

“The expression of one’s opinion and personal position on certain issues of the public-political and social-economic life of the state is an inalienable right of a deputy of the State Duma, established by Russian legislation. Additionally, we inform you that the use of figurative expressions, so-called figures of speech, in the Russian language is not an insult and serves to clarify the thoughts of the speaker,” says the response of the State Duma ethics commission signed by Tereshkova.

On October 15, on the air of the state television channel “Russia-1”, the member of the State Duma from the “United Russia” party, representing the regions of the Far East, General Andrey Gurulev proposed to “exterminate” 20% of Russians who do not trust the country’s president, Vladimir Putin. He believes that “the level of solidarity that exists today” is 80% of citizens who trust the current head of state.

“And I would like that in this society of ours, <…> so that all this rot that has remained, it should be, if not isolated, then at least somehow destroyed,” Gurulev said.

The deputy’s arguments concerned those Russians who left the country – he called them traitors – as well as those who remained in Russia, but, according to polls, do not trust Vladimir Putin. Gurulev also called U.S. President Joe Biden, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron “scum” and said that they “didn’t dream” of the level of support that Putin has.

Andrey Gurulyov is a former deputy commander of the troops of the Southern Military District. Previously, he had repeatedly made sharp statements on the subject of the war in Ukraine, which were sometimes criticized by higher-ups. In particular, after Gurulyov published the appeal of the dismissed general Popov, the head of the State Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin, summoned him for a conversation. As “Novaya Gazeta” notes, in the record of the deputy there is also a close connection with PMC “Wagner”.