President of Russia, Vladimir Putin has threatened to crush anyone attempting to divide Russian society.
He stated this on Thursday while praising the effectiveness and unshakable allegiance of his country’s powerful law enforcement services.
“Those who try to intimidate people, to split our society, to play on religious or national feelings will never succeed,” Putin said in a Kremlin-posted video statement.
“Inevitable and just retribution awaits them,” he added.
During his military offensive in Ukraine, Putin has stepped up a decades-long crackdown on civil society, independent media, and opposition, outlawing dissent and criticism of the Kremlin and punishing it with years in prison.
Russia frequently employs similar terminology to disparage those who oppose the Kremlin, including domestic critics whom Moscow characterizes as Western spies or puppets.
Putin observed Russia’s “Investigation Officers’ Day” and paid respect to several Russian law enforcement agencies, including the Investigative Committee and the FSB security services, which succeeded the Soviet-era KGB.
“Investigators show unconditional loyalty to the Fatherland and our people,” Putin said.
Critics of the Kremlin say Russia’s focus on investigating and prosecuting its domestic political opponents and rivals have left it blind to genuine security threats.
In March, armed gunmen killed more than 140 at a Moscow concert hall in the country’s most deadly terror attack in almost two decades.
The incident came just days after warnings from Western intelligence agencies that Putin publicly rejected as “blackmail” and an attempt to “destabilise our society”.
The Islamic State group claimed responsibility, but Putin and other officials tried to link the massacre to Ukraine, without providing any evidence.
Almost all of Putin’s main opponents are in jail or have fled into exile.
Having stamped out dissent and passed strict military censorship laws that make criticism of the military illegal, Putin has repeatedly claimed Russian society is united behind his offensive on Ukraine.
