Putin’s Russia is heading towards a dictatorship, opposition activist warns

Moscow, Jul 3 (efe-epa).- Russia is heading towards a dictatorship after the approval of constitutional reforms and the only way out is anti-government protests, an opposition activist warned on Friday.

Sergei Udaltsov, a far-left Kremlin critic, said: “We are heading towards a dictatorship in which only one person will rule, a tsar, and there will be no liberties.

“A little more and there will no longer be any democracy to defend.”

The leader of Russia’s Left Front movement branded the referendum on constitutional changes that will allow President Vladimir Putin to stay in power until 2036 as “a violation of the Russian voter”.

“If we continue like this, it will be the end of the democratic elections in Russia,” he added.

“In 2011 we demonstrated against fraud in the parliamentary system but even then there was minimal control.

“The plebiscite was a manipulation of the masses in the style of Goebbels’ terrible propaganda machine.”

Udaltsov and his supporters will deliver a document to the presidential administration on Saturday stating that they do not recognize the results of the vote and demanding that advanced voting is never used again.

The system, which saw citizens able to cast their ballots over six days has been criticized by the opposition and watchdogs as a breeding ground for fraud.

“We risk being detained since public acts are prohibited due to the pandemic but we must tell the truth,” Udaltsov said.