Why is no one stopping Putin?
Simon Strauss
Editor in the Feuilleton.
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There is currently no force in Russia that could do that.
All potential opposition forces have either left Russia, been imprisoned, or have fallen silent.
Fear is a powerful emotion, it's in our nature, we need fear to survive.
Does the majority of the Russian population support the view that Ukraine belongs to Russia?
I think many people in Russia share this view.
How can Europe help in the situation that has arisen?
I don't think so.
It is not a question of economics, what is needed is a change in thinking.
How likely do you think it is that Putin will lose the support of the political and military elites?
I think there is a certain probability.
But a shift of power into the hands of the military would hardly bode well for the country.
And there is currently no alternative political force in Russia.
What do you say to those who say that Putin is today's Hitler?
No.
I think Putin and Hitler are completely different personality types.
Hitler was a charismatic speaker, as you can see in old film footage of his performances.
The content of his speeches was clumsy, but he captivated his audience and sent them into ecstasy, a kind of mass hypnosis.
Putin has no such gift, he is quite a mediocre speaker.
But he has great power.
Do you fear for your own life and safety if you stay in Moscow and freely express your point of view?
My life is coming to its natural end, I will be eighty in a year.
Since my youth I have always expressed my point of view rather carelessly, even if sometimes it would have been better to remain silent.
You shouldn't change your habits as you get older.
I'm not afraid, but I don't think anything is out of the question.
Lyudmila Ulitskaya lives in Moscow. Most recently, her volume of stories “Alissa buys her death” (Hanser, 2022) was published.