Russian cult author Wladimir Kaminer (57) in the Blick interview: “I think Putin is doing absolutely fine in his private life.”

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There is really only one thing that matters in the elections in Russia: the incumbent president Vladimir Putin (71) is re-elected with a high percentage of the votes. In the mock elections, which take place from Friday to Sunday, it is impossible for another candidate to win.

Russian author Wladimir Kaminer (57), who lives in Berlin, is intensively concerned with his old homeland, from which he fled shortly before the collapse of the Soviet Union. He particularly remembers being punished as a soldier for failing to stop German amateur pilot Mathias Rust when he landed on Red Square.

Blick: You were performing military service in the Soviet missile defense system when German amateur pilot Mathias Rust managed to land a Cessna on Red Square in 1987. How could you miss him?
Vladimir Kaminer: We were a missile defense center for low-flying targets in the second defense ring. Our job was to intercept big American bombers like B-1Bs and B52s – not the little Cessnas that abounded around Moscow and that every collective farm chairman used to visit his aunt in the neighboring village.

Have you been punished?
We were completely torn apart. And then we were put on buses and driven around Moscow until we got back to our headquarters and could continue working. There were no other soldiers with this special training at the time.

In 1991, the collapse of the Soviet Union brought new hope to the Russians. Why did you still flee to the GDR?
We grew up in a totalitarian state, in a dictatorship that constantly wanted to tell us what to read and what to do. My generation didn’t even have to ask whether they wanted to stay or leave. It’s like I’m in prison: I don’t ask myself why I want to leave when I get hot food twice a day. You take every opportunity to get out.

Why go to the GDR?
We automatically thought that wherever there was not the Soviet Union, life must be a paradise.

A few years later, Putin came to power. Many had the hope that life would change.
Hope is a good feeling, but it cannot replace a functioning democracy. Under Putin, the Russian people had no political instruments to influence the leadership. You have to imagine Russia in two worlds: 140 million people live on Earth, while a few thousand determined and well-armed people barricade themselves in the Kremlin tower above.

What do you think of Vladimir Putin?
Something happened to him that is very typical of authoritarian rulers who live for too long in a space closed off from the outside world. Only a few friends visited him in his bunker and probably gave him fake books.

Which do you mean?
There are novels with alternate histories set in Russia. A Soviet KGB agent travels back in time and ends up with the Tsar. Putin identified with this waste and came up with the idea to change the world order. I also believe that the Corona period has contributed to this.

How do you assess his situation?
Putin is in a pretty unhealthy situation: a hole at the back, a wall at the front.

Have you met him yet?
Yes of course. We were in Germany with the Federal President. He was not always an enemy of the West, but enjoyed state visits. We shake hands.

Do you think he also has his good sides?
I think he’s doing well privately. But I don’t want him as a friend. I don’t like this generation of early retirees from the Soviet State Security. In Russia they are called garage pensioners. These are people who are still fit, but no longer have to work. So they sit behind the garage with a beer and say America is crazy.

How do Russians view Putin?
They don’t like war. They take every opportunity to express their dissatisfaction if this can be done without danger.

After the 2011 elections, hundreds of thousands of people demonstrated against the government. Why not today?
The regime was not that radical then. At the time, they simply beat the protesters with rubber bats. Today they are being killed. Even just talking about peace is disrespectful to the Russian armed forces, which could result in up to fifteen years in prison.

Are you involved in the opposition?
I tried to find a new livelihood for the many opposition journalists here in Germany. With them, Russians are better informed about their own country from abroad than through the state propaganda media. I also helped find media channels.

Is there anything that gives you hope?
There are many people in Russia who are also there and do not agree with this policy. They need an exit strategy. The realization that you have to look for allies in Russia, that you can only end this war in the Kremlin and not on the battlefield in Ukraine, is slowly gaining weight in Europe. We will see changes soon.

How long do you think the war will last?
It can’t last much longer because there simply aren’t enough people on both sides. No country can produce so many heroes, especially Russia.

If you saw Putin, what would you say to him?
Man, stop it. Have the courage to admit your mistake. Everybody makes mistakes.

Source: Blick