Former Duma compares Russia with Nazi Germany and calls Crimean annexation mistake
In an interview with Ukrainian publication Censor.net.ua, former State Duma deputy Denis Voronenkov compared Russia with Nazi Germany, called the annexation of Crimea a mistake, and declared all-out fraud in Russia’s election.
“The current situation in Russia is [like that of] Hitler’s Nazi Germany ... the whole country has gone mad in a pseudo-patriotic frenzy,” said Voronenkov.
According to the former deputy, “Crimea has become a litmus test – it united Russia around the idea of [stealing] something from its neighbor.”
Voronenkov stated that he did not vote for Crimea’s accession to Russia. He said that other members of the Communist Party faction made this decision for him. “They voted for me, although I did not authorize that vote,” said the former deputy.
Voronenkov also said that Russia falsified the results of its elections, [both municipal to federal], and that the FSB has usurped the powers of all other law enforcement agencies in the country.
Voronenkov confirmed that he testified against former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych, whom Ukraine has accused of treason, in an investigation led by Ukrainian Prosecutor’s office. According to Voronenkov, Yanukovich “betrayed his country, was involved in the mass murder of people, fled to another country, and called on the army of another state to destroy his people.”
Voronenkov left Russia in October 2016. In December, he was given Ukrainian citizenship.
In Russia, the Ukrainian edition of Censor.net.ua was blocked by a court decision.
Denis Voronenkov was a member of the Russian Duma from 2011 to 2016. He was part of the Communist Party faction. At the end of January 2017, newspaper Kommersant reported that Voronenkov testified against former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych before the Ukrainian Prosecutor’s office. Soon after, the Mariinsky Theatre cancelled the performance of of Voronenkov’s wife, opera singer Maria Maksakova.
In Russia, Voronenkov was the focus of a criminal investigation on corporate raid. The Investigative Committee proposed depriving him of his immunity from prosecution, but the Prosecutor General’s office did not support the Investigative Committee.