From the premises of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, the Russian opposition leader, Garry Kasparov, speaks of the "brutality of police in our country, called to repress any form of protest against Vladimir Putin". "According to the president’s propaganda, everything is fine in Russia. But we are in a poor economic and social state". "Just out of the capital, the distance of political power from our people can be clearly felt. I think that from next autumn there will be a hard fight at the summit, which will lead to a political crisis. Putin’s successor for the Kremlin will have to be chosen. With our movement, we will try to involve the citizens through a clear plan. And we will need a reliable nominee, who may be supported by both the right and left parties". Kasparov states: "At the meeting in Samara, the president of the Commission, Barroso, and the president of the EU Council, Merkel, spoke clearly to Putin about the need to respect democracy and freedoms. I also thank the president of the EU Parliament, Poettering, for his invitation. In Russia, we are beginning to feel the support of the European Union to the cause of freedom".
