Russian Federation National Guard General Viktor Zolotov has published a video address to the leader of the Russian opposition Alexei Navalny challenging him to a duel.
Background
The address was in response to an investigation carried out by the Anti-Corruption Foundation created by Navalny. The investigation asserts that while buying food supplies for Rosgvardia, corrupt deals to the tune of billions of roubles were made.
Moreover, the investigation puts into doubt the legality of Viktor Zolotov’s enormous wealth and that of his family. The general has been in the state service his entire life: he guarded President Boris Yeltsin, the Mayor of Saint Petersburg Anatoly Sobchak and President Vladimir Putin and the influential businessman Roman Tsepov for two years as well.
Reaction
Viktor Zolotov was unable to answer the charges made by Alexei Navalny.
He did not respond to any of the many accusations put forward by the investigation. Instead, he told those who viewed his video the following:
• Navalny was made in an American test tube;
• He is a rotten and rusted-out person;
• He has the same characteristics as those of the president of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, the deceased businessman Boris Berezovski and Mikhail Khodorkovski who lives abroad.
The general characterised himself in the following fashion:
• An honest man;
• His wealth was acquired through hard work, also due to him having been a ‘shock worker of the Communist Labour’;
• And that his honour as an officer had been wounded.
Zolotov requested a duel to reinstate his honour on the ‘tatami’ [Japanese wrestling mat] or in the ring. There, he says, he will turn Alexei Navalny into a ‘chop of meat’.
Should the challenge be accepted, the duel will take place no earlier than two weeks as Navalny is currently serving a 30-day term for violating terms of conducting demonstrations.
Social media clutching its sides
Social media users have reacted with sarcasm to Zolotov’s proposal:
“If this is the national guard, I definitely don’t want to see the regular army.”
“Because the choice of weapon is up to the one challenged, I would recommend Navalny opt for a rap battle.”
“All that glitters is not gold.” – [a joke on Zolotov’s last name, which etymologically is related to the word gold].
