In his latest Guardian column on the “demonisation” of Russia (republished, of course by the Stoppers), Seumas Milne blithely dismisses the possibility that Vladimir Putin had anything to do with the murder of opposition figure Boris Nemtsov as “[making] little sense.”
Responsibility for an outrage that exposed the lack of security in the heart of Moscow and was certain to damage the president hardly seems likely to lie with Putin or his supporters.
Unfortunately Milne does not offer alternative suspects. C’mon, Seumas. We’re dying to know who you think did it.
Milne goes on to write two sentences which make reading the rest of the column (or even the entire sentences) unnecessary:
Putin’s authoritarian conservatism may offer little for Russia’s future, but…
…..
That doesn’t justify less extreme Russian violations of international law, but…
Is there a more predictable political writer anywhere than Seumas Milne? I wonder if Milne has ever written (or ever will write) anything that would surprise his readers. Anything that would make them say, “Wow. Seumas Milne wrote that?”
