Exiled billionaire planning Russian revolution: Report

Russian billionaire Boris Berezovsky said he is planning a revolution in Russia to topple President Vladimir Putin.

Russian billionaire Boris Berezovsky said he is planning a revolution in Russia to topple President Vladimir Putin. “We need to use force to change this regime,” Berezovsky, who has received asylum in Britain, told the Guardian.

“It isn’t possible to change this regime through democratic means. There can be no change without force, pressure,” he said. Asked if he was fomenting a revolution, he replied: “You are absolutely correct.”

Berezovsky, a vocal critic of Putin, said he was in contact with members of Russia’s political elite. He said these people shared his opinion that Putin was eroding democratic reforms, centralising power and infringing Russia’s constitution, according to the Guardian.

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“There is no chance of regime change through democratic elections,” Berezovsky said. “If one part of the political elite disagrees with another part of the political elite — that is the only way in Russia to change the regime. I try to move that.”

The businessman said he was offering his “experience and ideology” to his contacts, adding: “There are also practical steps which I am doing now, and mostly it is financial.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov condemned the comments as a criminal offence and hoped they would prompt questions about Berezovsky’s refugee status in Britain, the Guardian said.