Putin defends ex-Soviet allies in color revolution

Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is expanding influence on previous Soviet Union nations, said that he will not allow government allied with Russia to be involved in color revolutions. Color revolutions refer to recent popular risings that have shaken former Soviet countries including Georgia (Rose Revolution in 2003), Ukraine (Orange Revolution in 2004), Kyrgyzstan (Tulip Revolution, 2005), Armenia (Velvet Revolution, 2018). The revolutions have been named after each country’s national flower and color, which Russia has claimed that have been driven from behind by Western nations. 　

According to Reuters, President Putin praised CSTO (Collective Security Treaty Organizations) troops on Monday in an online meeting with CSTO member states, including Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia, for settling recent anti-government uprising in Kazakhstan. “We protected Kyrgyzstan from external forces and will not allow so-called color revolutions to take place,” Putin said. He said that the Kazakhstan situation would not be the last attempt for external forces to intervene in CSTO internal issues, while claiming “The measures taken by CSTO have clearly shown we will not allow the situation to be rocked at home.”

Putin’s words come as the first of its kind since Kazakhstan’s political unrest, which took place on last Sunday. They seem to reflect Russia’s intention to intervene in political uprising at other former Soviet countries to keep its influence and prevent establishment of anti-Russian governments.


newsoo@donga.com