“We need to learn from the mistakes of the past, from the lessons of the past, to ensure that we do not repeat those mistakes the next time a window of opportunity opens for change in Russia,” Kara-Murza told reporters at the Royal United Services Institute, a London think tank, in his first public appearance in Britain since his release on August 1.
“None of us know exactly when and under what circumstances, but it will happen in the very foreseeable future. And next time we have to get it right.”
Putin, 71, has been president and prime minister since 1999. He began a new six-year term as president in May. He dominates Russia’s political landscape while leading opposition politicians are in prison or in exile.
“We must not allow Vladimir Putin to win this war in Ukraine. And what’s more, we must not allow him a face-saving way out of this war,” he said on Friday.
He argued that the West should develop a roadmap for a future democratic Russia, which should include Western politicians telling the Russian people that the West stands with them against Putin, Kara-Murza said. The release of more prisoners of conscience – he said there are about 1,300 in Russia – is crucial.
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Reporting and text by Lucy Papachristou, editing by Frances Kerry
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