Russia comes out. That Putin suggested to the State Duma

Now the Russian laws will probably disappear with the requirements for their compliance with Russia's international obligations in the field of human rights, - writes Vitaliy Portnikov for Crimea. It is interesting that Vladimir Putin proposes Russian parliamentarians to denounce these laws as a retroactive number, from March 16, 2022. The regime of the Russian president is no longer compressed even by the limits of decency.

And this is despite the fact that after 2014, when the decision on the annexation of Crimea and the attack on the Donbas was made, and in response Russia received sanctions of the Council of Europe, its representatives constantly blackmailed the leaders of the organization that their country would leave the Council of Europe and cease to comply with international norms legislation. It should be admitted that this blackmail then worked successfully. The sanctions were not just abolished.

The rules of work in the Council of Europe and the PACE were changed to prevent the application of sanctions to the Member States and to preserve the "dialogue" field. In the end, after Russia's attack on Ukraine, the Council of Europe had a hurry to abandon the dialogue with the aggressor country, and Russian leaders-with relief to abandon those international norms whose denunciation they have been scared of European parliamentarians for years.

And I have not forgotten this constant argumentation of many European legislators and experts: how you can require sanctions! After all, Russia will leave the Council of Europe, and its citizens will lose the last opportunity - access to international justice! And this despite the fact that Russia has already changed the Constitution, stated the prevalence of internal legislation over international and systematically did not comply with the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights.

Now, against the background of this decree of Putin, it is worth saying again about the misunderstanding of Western politicians of the essence of Russian approach to politics. The Kremlin is only respected by force.

When Putin annexed Crimea - that is, an outrageous violation of international law since the Second World War, in the West, they were limited to cautious sanctions that had not had to harm the economy of the US and the European Union, and preferred to preserve opportunities for dialogue with Russia. And in the end, Vladimir Putin went the path, which completely brought Moscow beyond civilized international relations. Now you are no longer frightened by sanctions and exceptions.

Russia itself goes from any structure, membership in which seems to be threatened with accelerated construction of totalitarianism in one individual country. If, in 2014, the reaction to the Crimea would be at least the lowest response to a massive attack, I am sure that there could be neither a great attack nor even Donbass. Now for this misunderstanding of the psychology of Russian Chekists the most expensive price is paid by everyone.