Appearing on CNN with host Frederika Whitfield, former Russian Foreign Minister Andrei Kozyrev trashed the Donald Trump-like rally Russian President Vladimir Putin put on this past week as he tried to pump up support for his unprovoked Ukraine invasion.
Kozyrev, who served as the first Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation under President Boris Yeltsin, talked about his first-hand knowledge about Putin and suggested the current Russian president isn't interested in starting a nuclear war, before turning to the rally that featured Putin on a stage surrounded by cheering Russians.
"He wants to silence people inside Russia and deafen these people so they don't hear, make them blind to what happens outside," Kozyrev began which prompted the CNN host to jump in.
"I want to see that picture again of Putin in the stadium, you've seen the images if you can't see it right now, in this stadium, and these thousands of people who have filled the stadium," she began as a clip of the rally ran on-screen. "Are they all brainwashed? Is it that they all are in agreement with Putin? Or is there some other motivation for being there in these numbers, waving the flag and cheering on Putin in the middle of this invasion?"
"According to sources from Russia, many of them disagree, many," the former diplomat replied. "But they are either intimidated and that's his strategy; his strategy towards the west, his strategy towards Ukraine and his strategy towards the Russian people proper is to intimidate."
"They are intimidated, some of them, though, are paid for that and some of them, probably considerable amount of them, are really brainwashed," he continued. "That's why the sanctions, even if they hit the population, are important because it should be a wakeup call, sometimes -- some kind of shock therapy for those people to wake up to what really is happening."
Watch below:
CNN 03 19 2022 11 35 42youtu.be
