βI wake up every day thinking how I can do more to damage Putinβsβ¦regimeβ
A former minister in Vladimir Putinβs first government says that he wakes up every day thinking about how he can do more to bring down βVladimir Putinβs brutal, dictatorial regime.β
Vladimir Milov served under Vladimir Putin as Russiaβs Deputy Energy Secretary in 2002 but resigned when his plans to modernise the sector were rejected by the president.
He subsequently became involved in Russian opposition politics, aligning himself firstly with the arch Putin critic Boris Nemtsov who was assassinated in 2015. More recently he has worked closely with the opposition figurehead Alexei Navalny who is currently imprisoned in Russia.
Asked by HARDtalkβs Stephen whether he feared for his own safety, Mr Milov said βAfter all of these cases, after Boris being murdered; Navalny and Kara-Murza being imprisoned and poisonedβ¦ I cannot afford myself.β
Mr Milov has been charged in absentia with spreading βfake newsβ on the Navalny Live YouTube channel.
