Putin compared Navalny to Saakashvili

Russian President Vladimir Putin, on Thursday, December 14, during a press conference, compared Alexei Navalny with former Georgian President Mikhail Saaakashvili.

Putin drew an analogy when answering a question from Ksenia Sobchak, who asked the president about competition in elections. The TV presenter said that in Russia, opposition candidates are not allowed to vote or that they create problems for them, and Navalny is not allowed, despite the fact that he proved in the European Court of Human Rights that he has the right to be elected. Sobchak asked whether such a policy is connected with the fact that Putin is afraid of the opposition.

The President replied that the opposition should come out with a positive program. “You have the slogan “Against all”, this is not positive. About other characters. Do you want our "Saakashvilis" to destabilize the situation in the country? I am sure that most Russians do not want this. There will be competition, but it must be constructive. I assure you that the authorities are not afraid of anyone, but they should not look like a peasant who picks cabbage out of his beard. We will not allow a repeat of the Ukrainian situation in Russia,” Putin said.

Earlier, the head of the Central Election Commission, Ella Panfilova, said that Navalny would not be able to take part in the elections in 2018 due to a criminal record. The oppositionist insists that, by law, he is required to register, since there is a corresponding decision of the ECHR for this.

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