Vitaliy Portnikov: Moscow doesn't care about Belgorod

Raids in Belgorod and Kursk regions will have no real impact on the Kremlin regime. Only destabilization in the Russian capital can truly change the situation and shake up the entire territory of Russia.

In an interview on the Espresso TV channel, journalist Vitaliy Portnikov expressed the opinion that raids in Belgorod and Kursk regions would have no real impact on the Kremlin regime.

"They will not affect the stability of Russia. However, there is one territory in Russia that can shake up the RF. That is Moscow. Because I remember well the reaction of Muscovites to the Chechen wars. It was indifferent to them. However, when events occurred that interested or affected them, the reaction was immediate," Portnikov noted.

He mentioned that during the hostage-taking at the Dubrovka Theater Center, Russian dictator Putin held a meeting, which was later deciphered in a TV program on one of the Russian channels.

"At that meeting, Mikhail Kasyanov was persuading Putin that conducting a raid to free the hostages, planned by the FSB and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, was unacceptable. To which Putin replied that in a few days they would just demolish them. And then anti-war demonstrations indeed began on Red Square," Portnikov recounted.

The journalist stated that Muscovites always ignored what was happening in the provinces.

"The same applies to the explosions of buildings in Moscow. As long as such buildings were exploding somewhere in Buynaksk or Volgodonsk, it suited Muscovites. They weren't interested in what was happening in the provinces. As soon as buildings started to explode in Moscow, the reaction was immediate. And it's important to note that such buildings must definitely explode in residential areas. Because if such explosions were to occur somewhere on Arbat or in other expensive areas of Moscow, ordinary Muscovites would only support it," he added.