Russia: Sergei Lavrov assures that the offensive against Ukraine has “purged” society

This is not the first time that the Russian authorities have mentioned the need for a purge in Russian society. At the very beginning of the war, on March 17, 2022, Vladimir Putin declared in a speech at the Luzhniki stadium: “The Russian people will always be able to recognize the scum and the traitors, spit them out like one would spit out a fly that had entered the mouth.”

The exact figure has since been unknown, but many citizens have fled the country, whether they are opposed to sending soldiers to Ukraine or partial mobilization.

MPs regularly speak of the need to punish more severely those who are judged to be criticizing their country in Russia or abroad.

Almost two years after the start of the conflict, Sergei Lavrov also insists:

“The special operation united society in Russia to an unprecedented degree and helped purge it of people who did not feel a sense of belonging to Russian history and culture. Some of them left, others stayed and started thinking. But the overwhelming majority of society rallied.”

Russian power also intends to demonstrate, both externally and internally, that Russian support for their head of state is unquestionable. In any case, this is the objective of the presidential election in mid-March. And too bad if for everyone the expected result has absolutely no suspense.