athos wrote on Feb 24
th, 2022 at 9:00pm:
Boikov is a Sydney-born pro-Putin Russian ultranationalist who calls himself the Aussie Cossack. Perhaps unkindly, some have described the self-branded Aussie Cossack as Putin’s man in Australia if Putin knew who he was.
In 2018, told a Russian media outlet, “We have a unique opportunity to support Russia from within an enemy state.” The enemy he alluded to is Australia.
Boikov, who has more than 12,000 followers on Instagram, is unashamed about spreading a pro-Putin, pro-Russian message by lobbying politicians.
In August 2020, Russian Opposition leader Alexei Navalny was poisoned with a Novichok nerve agent and evacuated to Berlin where he recovered. Navalny accused Putin of being responsible for his poisoning, and an investigation implicated agents from the Federal Security Service (FSB) the successor to the KGB, Putin’s alma mater. He returned to Russia in January 2021 and was jailed for two and a half years in February 2021.
Protesters gathered worldwide to call for his release. In Sydney a group of a hundred or so protesters did the same and Boikov assembled a counter-protest.
“We’re here with our President Vladimir Putin,” Boikov said, pointing to a poster of Putin toted by one of the counter-protesters, supporting Vladimir Putin, supporting the President against this opposition scum.”
When asked by Four Corners journalist Sean Nicholls if he supported the idea of murdering political opponents, Boikov replied, “I wouldn’t say murdering. I would say liquidating. Murdering is a bad word.”
As the Morrison government sanctions Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, some big questions need to be put to political candidates who overtly have endorsed Putin’s conduct.
Our security agencies will be on full alert. Putin has useful idiots everywhere.