He has just told TASS (a Russian state news agency) that he will not take part in the debate, because he invited me to a sporting contest instead.
It seemed to me that in Zolotov’s address, the word “duel” could be heard quite clearly. And as we know, debates can also be held as a kind of contest.
Well, that’s a real shame. For some reason, I was almost certain that Zolotov would agree (and really, how could he refuse after that level-80 grandstanding?), and I spoke about this in detail on yesterday’s program.
I even thought he might agree immediately, to leave less time for preparation and make the debate happen as soon as today.
I even put on my most intimidating T-shirt today. Tests have shown that it paralyzes the opponent’s will:
If such a debate had taken place, it would have been a very useful conversation for the whole country. But as it is, it’s already more or less clear what will happen next.
This Crimean meat-processing plant (note that it was not Zolotov who sued me, but the company that became the sole supplier to the National Guard of Russia under Medvedev’s secret decree) has already filed a case against me in commercial court. It’s a very absurd lawsuit; I’ll write about it.
Next, we will fully prove that we are right in court, but we will still be declared the losers, just as happened in every previous case—from Volodin and Neverov to Usmanov.
And then Zolotov will go around everywhere saying: I beat them in court; the court ruled that all our procurement was conducted lawfully.
And later still, “satisfaction” will come in the form of a fabricated criminal case or something of that sort. There is a long-standing practice and a standard pattern of behavior here—there’s no need to guess.
Well then, all I can say is that I stand by everything I said in yesterday’s response, and Zolotov’s refusal today only strengthens my confidence that I am right.
People