Is Putin the Hitler of the 21st century?
Just as Hitler dreamed of a Greater Reich, Putin is building his Russian world (photo: Getty Images)
Tajikistani oppositionist and chairman of the Movement for Reforms and Development of Tajikistan, Sharofiddin Gadoev, has been sentenced in absentia in Russia to 8.5 years in prison under so-called "extremist" charges for allegedly spreading fake news about the army of the aggressor state.
In his column for RBC-Ukraine, Gadoev explains why this trial is nothing but another act of political persecution, and why today's Russia mirrors the Third Reich, bearing full responsibility for aggression against Ukraine and other nations.
This is not a trial - it's a continuation of Putin's crimes
On November 26, the Moscow City Court will begin hearing my appeal in the case for which I was sentenced to 8 years and 6 months in prison for supporting Ukraine, for speaking out against the war, and for saying openly, as a Tajik, we no longer want to be a Russian colony.
This is not a court of law. It's part of Putin's fascist machine, where fear has replaced justice and judges are merely servants of the dictator. It is a tool of the repressive apparatus of Putin, the terrorist, responsible for thousands of deaths and the destruction of entire nations. Today, the Russian judiciary is nothing more than a branch of the FSB (Federal Security Service - ed.) - a mechanism of political terror and war propaganda.
A court under the control and direct command of an international criminal and terrorist like Vladimir Putin cannot be considered a court in any legal sense. Its rulings have neither moral nor legal legitimacy, because they come from an aggressor state whose leadership is charged by the International Criminal Court with war crimes and the deportation of children.
Under Articles 1 and 2 of the UN Charter and the principles of the Nuremberg Tribunal, any government that commits acts of aggression and mass murder loses its right to administer justice. A court serving a criminal regime is not a body of law. It is part of a criminal organization.
Today's Russian courts are not independent institutions but instruments of coercion executing the orders of a terrorist under international investigation. Any of their decisions is legally void, issued by an authority that has lost its international legitimacy.
Putin is the Hitler of the 21st century. He has revived the idea of a chosen nation, justifies killings for the glory of the people, and invades his neighbors under the banner of historical justice. As Hitler dreamed of a Greater Reich, Putin is building his Russian world - with the same concentration camps, bombings, and propaganda of hatred.
He excuses war with lies about denazification, while turning Russia itself into a Nazi state with its own symbols, personality cult, and militaristic hysteria.
Putin's regime began its bloody path with the annexation of Crimea and the occupation of Donbas and Luhansk. All these are crimes against international law, condemned by the UN and The Hague.
Russian troops, intelligence services, and Wagner mercenaries have brought to Ukrainian soil murders, torture, deportations, and genocide. Hundreds of towns have been destroyed, and millions of Ukrainians forced to flee. On February 24, 2022, Russia attacked Ukraine not for security, but for conquest, colonization, and revenge against freedom.
When a Russian Buk missile shot down Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, killing 298 innocent people, the world realized: this is not a state. It is a terrorist organization. The Hague court confirmed that the weapon came from Russia and the killers acted under Kremlin control. That deliberate destruction of a civilian airliner mirrors today’s destruction of Ukrainian cities, schools, and hospitals.
Russia bears responsibility for aggression not only against Ukraine. It invaded Georgia, destabilized Moldova, and props up bloody dictatorships across Central Asia.
In Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan, the Kremlin has for decades supported mafia-style regimes that, under its protection, kidnap, torture, and kill their own citizens.
Russia has colonized our nations through its security services, military bases, and fear. It teaches our dictators how to suppress their people - the same way it annihilates Ukrainians.
Putin's regime is a modern Third Reich, only with nuclear missiles and television instead of swastikas.
Tajiks, Uzbeks, Kyrgyz, and Kazakhs are being turned into voiceless slaves - cheap labor without rights. We must say: enough. We don't want to be servants of an empire whose planes shoot down civilians and whose armies rape women and burn children. Russia is not an ally. It is a source of terror, blood, and misery.
It's time we stand on the side of truth - on the side of Ukraine, which today defends the freedom of all nations, including ours.
I am being prosecuted for words. But these charges are an attack on everyone who refuses to accept the Kremlin's lies. Putin fears the truth because he knows he will be held accountable for his crimes. The International Criminal Court has already issued a warrant for his arrest, and that's only the beginning.
Those who sign verdicts on behalf of the aggressor state will themselves stand trial. Russian courts have lost the right to call themselves courts. Their rulings are as illegitimate as the regime they serve.
From lawlessness, no justice is born - from terror, no fairness emerges.
The freedom of Ukraine is the freedom of Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Georgia, and even Russia itself.
When Putin's empire falls, the dictators it sustains will fall with it. Our nations will be free again, and the Moscow boot will no longer trample our land.
Putin's path ends in The Hague. The path of our nations leads to freedom.
