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THE PUBLIC REQUEST for the resignation of Russian President Vladimir Putin has already been supported by 84 municipal deputies (councilmen) from all over Russia, who are demanding that the Duma, or chamber of deputies, accuse the head of the Kremlin of high treason for initiating the military campaign in Ukraine.
“More and more deputies are joining the demand for Vladimir Putin’s resignation,” Dmitry Paliuga, author of the initiative and a city deputy in St. Petersburg, told reporters on Monday.
The petition, which has not yet been forwarded to the lower house of the Russian Parliament, has already been signed by deputies from municipal councils all over Russia.
Among the deputies who have supported the demand are public officials from Moscow and St. Petersburg, as well as mayors from other regions of the European part of the country and Siberia.
Paliuga reported on his Twitter account that he has been summoned to appear tomorrow, Tuesday, before a St. Petersburg district court for allegedly smearing the Russian president.
However, the politician denied that he regrets his decision to address the Duma, as in recent days he has received great support from his fellow citizens in the Smolninsky district, a gesture he considered “invaluable”.
Paliuga and several of his colleagues addressed the Duma last week with a request to charge Putin with high treason for initiating the “special military operation.”
“We consider that President Putin’s decision on the initiation of the special military operation harms the security of Russia and its citizens,” the petition states.
The aim of the petition is for Putin to be deposed from his position as head of the Kremlin, where he arrived in 2000 and, in accordance with the constitutional reform, could remain until 2036.
“In our opinion, with the beginning of the special military operation on the territory of Ukraine of the actions of the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, there are indications of a crime contemplated by Article 73 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, high treason,” they note.
According to the request, since the beginning of hostilities Russian citizens are dying, the national economy has deteriorated, and an investor and human resources drain is taking place.
In addition, NATO is expanding eastward and, due to the President’s decision, the border between Russia and the Atlantic Alliance has doubled with the entry of Finland and Sweden.
The Russian military intervention has also caused the opposite effect to the demilitarization of the neighboring country with the Western supply to Ukraine of 38 billion dollars in weapons.
According to a poll released last week, 70% of Russians support to a greater or lesser degree the military campaign in Ukraine, and 18% of the population opposes it.
Russia announced on Saturday the withdrawal of its troops from several strategic locations in the Kharkiv region in northern Ukraine, which has triggered criticism from supporters of a much more aggressive offensive in the neighboring country.
