The source of this Uzbekistan quote is a fringe Russian politician pen-named Zakhar Prilepin.
He is a figure in a somewhat small political party called A Just Russia For Truth. They hold 28 of the 450 seats in the Duma, compared to United Russia’s 325.
He is not a voice of the Russian government. There are other fringe conservatives not happy with Putin’s moderate approach — and they are not voices of the Russian government either.
This is much ado about nothing.
It’s pointless to be realistic when they are on a roll here
You know that lol