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Filed under: Europe ~ Russia

Big bad billionaire Boris Berezovsky declared to the Guardian that he is "plotting a new Russian revolution," saying that force is the only way to remove Putin from office and change the regime of ex-KGB officers. His latest is that he's bankrolling members of the Russian political elite in an attempt to cause a split. He's made statements like this before, and it's always hilarious because Pootie Poot's cronies go bonkers.

His criticisms of Putin's regime, that he's rolling back democracy and that it may only be possible to remove his regime through force, are ideas and options that should be weighed and considered -- especially the first. But when it comes to violence, some character assassination is in order.

Boris Berezovsky and his ilk, along with Putin, are just two sides of the same corrupt coin. He spent a great part of the 90s buying up the country at bargain barrel prices using his own connections in the government, leaving the country in ravages while he profited. Berezovsky, at one point, was Russia just as Putin is now. Since he was sent into exile, he has been using words such as "democracy" like he owns them. But contrary to what he says, democracy isn't just political elites -- him and Putin -- being able to fight like dogs for power. It certainly isn't a slogan to be thrown around to gain Western support.

All in all, he's just another billionaire slimeball whose very actions led to the rise of a person like Putin. There are plenty of people who are actually in Russia, risking imprisonment and police baton beatings, who are fighting for democracy there. Chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov, ex-prime minister Kasyanov, and a host of others are trying to put together a feasible democratic opposition at this very moment. Others, like Anna Politkovskaya, actually died trying to bring about a democratic Russia.

In other words, Berezovsky can shove it.