Historian, former Soviet dissident, and current political prisoner Aleksandr Skobov writes from prison about the necessity of neutralizing Russia.

from prison letters, late August 2026

What should the programmatic document, on the basis of which I propose to found the party, look like?

Above all, it must clearly evaluate the Putin regime as a new form of Nazism, aimed at destroying everything that civilization has achieved in the field of legal and moral restrictions on arbitrariness and violence, and the aggressive war of conquest it (this regime) unleashed against Ukraine (must be evaluated) as part of a global, existential war for values, a way of life, and the world order. Its outcome determines whether it will be possible to “fix” the international system that recognizes the rule of law, or whether the “age of unrestrained predators” will definitively return—a time of the unlimited rule of the strongest, and the world will plunge into the chaos of a war of all against all.

I have devoted a number of my works to proving the Nazi nature of the Putin regime. From the extensive article “Fascism, Nazism, and Putinism” to the condensed “Naming to Conquer.”

Naming evil by its true name is the first and necessary step toward victory over it.

However, evil does not usually like to be called by its true name. Remember how Confucius began: with the “rectification of names” and the restoration of the original meanings of words.

Modern Europe was born from the struggle against fascism. It is its spiritual-moral, political-ideological, and legal foundation. The architecture of the “open society” was built upon it, and barriers against violence, cruelty, and oppression were created. All of this is present in the self-awareness of Europeans. It is said that historical memories have lost their sharpness because they have not been relevant for a long time. But such things slumber in the depths of self-awareness precisely so that they can be awakened in a moment of danger.

Now is exactly such a moment.

It is very important for us to realize that we are fighting against the same evil whose defeat marked the beginning of modern Europe.

For a long time, we considered it defeated forever, but it has returned.

The political specifics of the Putin regime and certain personality characteristics of its leaders exclude agreement, compromise, and peaceful coexistence with them. Many in society and among European elites are very reluctant to believe that we have once again encountered an evil with which it is impossible to negotiate. An evil that must be fought to the end, enduring hardship and shedding blood.

It is precisely this evil that they hesitate to call by its true name, thereby internally disarming themselves against it. I strive to make calling the Putin regime fascist and Putin a new Hitler a common occurrence in the expert community and among European political leaders. To more firmly root the awareness that it is unacceptable to end the war with another agreement that saves the aggressor. He must be finished off.

It is necessary for the Russian aggressors to suffer a decisive military defeat in Ukraine.

For these reasons, Putin’s Russia is the most dangerous evil for modern civilization. Stopping its aggression and eliminating Putin’s tyranny is a common task for all of civilized humanity. The primary task of (our) party is to convince public opinion in Western countries that it is necessary for the Russian aggressors to suffer a decisive military defeat in Ukraine. This will break the backbone of the war machine of Nazi Russia and create the conditions for the overthrow of the dictator. The party will welcome any group of persons who take the courage and initiative to remove Putin and his henchmen from the public stage.

The party stands and will stand for the following:

— all internationally recognized territories occupied by Russian aggressors must be liberated;
— any claim to the right to dictate Ukraine’s internal and foreign policy (including alliance policy) must cease to exist;
— reparations for damages caused must be paid to Ukraine; their amount will be determined by authoritative international institutions;
— Putin and his clique must be brought before an international tribunal for crimes against peace—the preparation, unleashing, and waging of an aggressive war (personally, I would like to see a Nuremberg-style tribunal, with the right to pass death sentences—Putin and his closest henchmen must be executed);
— the democratization, demilitarization (including denuclearization), and de-imperialization of Russia.

The final point presupposes its radical “de-verticalization”: the redistribution of power from executive bodies to representative ones (the principle of a parliamentary republic) at all levels—and also from the “center” toward the regions. Russia must be reconstituted as a voluntary confederation of sovereign subjects who retain the right to unilateral secession (free withdrawal from the confederation). A mechanism for forced exclusion from it must also be established.

I have deliberately not detailed the obvious measures for dismantling the totalitarian system: the abolition of repressive legislation and the repressive apparatus, the purging of the political and semi-political elite (“de-putinization”), etc.

This is not a program for the transformation of Russia, but for its “neutralization.”

The result must be the “final collapse” of the empire. In a mild form, its “confederalization,” if the process is managed. However, it may lose manageability both at the very beginning and later.

In any case, several dozen “people’s republics” in the post-Russian space will be more suitable than the preservation of the empire, even in a truncated form. Despite all the obvious costs of such an option. All the more desirable is some external control of the process. “External administration.” You are right that no one wants an intervention in Russia. But the situation may demand it. In this, I somehow believe Putin. I believe he will ask for it.

Aleksandr Skobov, member of the Council of the Free Russia Forum, member of the Anti-War Committee of Russia

Скобов Александр Валерьевич, 1957 г.р.
399783, Липецкая область, г. Елец, ул. Пролетарская д. 1Б, Т-2 Елецкая крытка