Boycott the Putin-hosted G8 meeting?

Andrei Illarionov is a man on a mission. Since resigning his post as Putin’s top economic advisor last December, citing his belief that Russia is “no longer a free country,” Illarionov has been working hard to get the international community to isolate Putin. And now he’s calling on the leaders of the G8 (or in this case, the G7) to boycott their July meeting in St. Petersburg.

In an op-ed in today’s Financial Times (subscription required), Illarionov argues that Russia fails to qualify for G8 membership on a number of counts: high inflation, low incomes, endemic corruption, and political repression. But it isn’t just economic trends or measures of freedom. It’s Russia’s whole approach to the rest of the world that sets them apart, according to Illarionov.

“[T]he principal difference between the G-7 countries and Russia lies in Russia’s approach to nearly all essential issues on the global agenda in the goals pursued by governments and their behavior in the international arena. Russia pursues “wars” against its neighbours on matters relating to visas, poultry imports, electricity, natural gas, wine and now even mineral water.”

Equally interesting: a new group of Russian allies Illarionov calls the “alternative G-8”, questionable characters like Belarus, Uzbekistan, Iran, Algeria, Venezuela, Myanmar and Hamas. So showing up to the G8 meeting in St. Petersburg, he argues, will just sanction the Kremlin’s unacceptable bullying of its neighbors and its befriending of states the G7 would rather see isolated. Putin is used to this kind of withering criticism by now, but it must smart from someone who used to be so close to the inner circle.