00:07Now in the context of the Russian legislative elections, we welcome Leonardo Russo, a geopolitical
00:13analyst that is joining us from Birshika, Kyrgyzstan. Welcome Leonardo. Thank you for bringing me here.
00:21So Leonardo, these are the first Duma elections since the special military operation in Ukraine
00:28began. Now, what, how do you think the economic consequences of the conflict could affect the
00:34democratic exercise? Well actually, it didn't affect much because even though Ukraine is bombing Moscow
00:44and the new liberated lands of Russia, Indonesia and other regions, Aporitsa and Kyrgyzstan, the elections
00:55are taking place. It shows that we have no excuse, like Ukraine. Ukraine hasn't had elections for a
01:06long time, but Russia will still have elections even though Ukraine is bombing parts of Russia.
01:14So, of course, the economic situation is not as good as we would like it to be. Ukraine is bombing
01:26our
01:26refineries. We, of course, we have some economic problems and exporting diesel is harder than before,
01:37because Ukraine is bombing Russia's refineries. But so far, the economy is still doing okay. I mean, better than in
01:48many countries in Europe.
01:52The country is doing an excellent job replacing Western products to domestic ones. I mean, Russia was forced to
02:03to create its own products to invest in its own industry. So, so far, things are okay.
02:16Most, most of Russian people, they support this military special operation, special military operation.
02:23I think the only criticism that some people they have towards Russian leadership is that it should be
02:32more aggressive. Many people in Russia, they believe that the Russian leadership is very moderate.
02:43Actually, more and more people in Russia, they want more aggressiveness. They don't believe the West.
02:49They believe the reason that the West doesn't keep its promises. So, so far, everything is okay. But for Russian
03:01people,
03:02Russia should be more heavy towards the West. I mean, because, you know, Ukraine is just a pawn. It's just
03:13a tool
03:13against Russia. Ukraine doesn't exist as a sovereign country. The decisions are not taken in here.
03:25So, like you were saying, Ukraine has continued bombing Russia. And just hours ago,
03:31Ukraine launched, like, the largest drone attack against Moscow to date. So, how do you think the threat of
03:39this Ukrainian attacks is affecting border turnout in this election?
03:45Well, I don't think it's affecting the elections because, as I said, we, in Russia, people are used to that.
03:54We know that we have a fascist, we are dealing with a fascist state. You know,
04:04many people that even fought for Ukraine. I am Brazilian. And unfortunately, we have many
04:12Brazilians that went to fight for Ukraine, crazy Brazilians. And even they themselves, they say that
04:22the military leadership of Ukraine is all Nazi. They all have Nazi tattoos. We are fighting the Nazis again.
04:29I mean, we, I say Russia. Russians are fighting the Nazis again, unfortunately. So, these bombs,
04:37these drones that Ukraine is sending to Russia, it's just a strength or they resolve. They think that
04:47there is no chance, there's no chance to peace. For years, Russia tried to have a reasonable dialogue
04:54with Kiev with no avail. Things are not working as Russia wanted. So, unfortunately, Russia sees
05:07no reason to talk about peace because the leadership in Kiev doesn't want peace. They want war. They want
05:15to destroy Russia. So, we are again facing the Nazis.
05:21So, on the other hand, these are the first state Duma elections that the citizens of Donbass are
05:28participating in as Russian citizens. How do you think this could affect the election results?
05:38Not at all. Not at all. Not at all. Actually, I mean, we have three main parties. We have United
05:46Russia, the part of Vladimir Putin, the president. Also, we have the Communists, yes, and the Liberals,
05:58but they are not Liberals, actually, in the Western sense. It was a party that was before led by
06:06Jirinowski. It's more nationalist, more patriot party. It has nothing to do with Western liberalism.
06:14So, these three parties, they are the main favorite, the main parties. Obviously, United Russia,
06:23the part of Putin probably is going to win. We don't know how big will be its victory. And the
06:33Communists and the Liberals, they are gaining a lot of support also. But all of them, they support the
06:41special military operation. This year, we have many veterans entering into politics. I mean, Putin wants
06:51more military veterans entering into politics. Russian leadership, they see that the future leaders of
07:02Russia should be those veterans, people that are pleading for Russia, for Russia being a safe country. So, it is
07:18the first time. And of course, now we have these new Liberated Territories voting. And it is good to see
07:30that Russians are getting united again. And definitely, even Ukrainian drones are not stopping our democratic
07:44process.
07:48Well, thank you, Leonardo, for answering our questions.
07:53You're welcome. Thank you.
07:56Well, that was Leonardo Russo, a geopolitical analyst joining us from Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, to answer some
08:04questions about the current legislative elections going on in Russia. Now, we'll continue with more information.
08:13Bye-bye.
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