Oleg Radzinsky: ‘I see nothing wrong with separatism’

Far-sighted? Oleg Radzinsky and Elena Servettaz by Lake Lucerne. SWI swissinfo

Oleg Radzinsky, a Russian dissident, writer, former investment banker and managing director of the humanitarian nonprofit “True Russia”, which assists Ukrainian refugees and victims of military aggression, talks to SWI swissinfo.ch’s Elena Servettaz.

In April 2024 Radzinsky published an essay called “Beyond This Side”. We meet him in Lucerne, Switzerland, a country with a federal structure. Radzinsky sees regionalism as a dangerous strategy for opposing the regime of Russian President Vladimir Putin, yet he believes that escalating conflicts between regions and the central government could “open a second front”, potentially leading to the regime’s collapse.

“I described it, but I do not recommend using it,” Radzinsky says. For this concept, he says he has been “branded” and even threatened with being “hit by the rouble”. The main argument against it is that it could lead to Russia’s disintegration, “which most of the Russian opposition does not want at all”.

Radzinsky doesn’t consider himself part of the Russian opposition, nor does he identify as a Russian politician or dissident. “Dissidents are in Russian prisons, while we are here in Switzerland. It’s easy to be a dissident here,” he says.

Where is the line between regionalism and separatism? Should we fear bloodshed in the fight for freedom? Has Russian society changed since the start of the war, and where has Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made mistakes? These and other questions are discussed with Oleg Radzinsky in a new episode of SWI swissinfo.ch’s On The Record.

Edited by Virginie Mangin/ts