Protopriest Vsevolod Chaplin, who is known for his scandalous initiatives, stated that the authorities have a right to suppress mutinies by force.
In this way, Chaplin commented on statements of one of the ideologists of the pro-Kremlin movement, head of its Orthodox branch, Borys Yakymenko, who supported the cruel actions of Gaddafi with respect to the rebelled Libyans.
"A state can use force in certain situations, for instance, in suppressing mutinies - I mean mutinies, not people's uprisings - or conspiracies, or attempts to subdue people against their will. When such things happen, the authorities, with support from society, should return force for force," stated the protopriest.
Chaplin explained that the line between a mutiny and people’s uprising should be defined individually in each situation. According to ROC spokesman, a people’s uprising is “a reflection of deep contradictions in the life of the society,” when the authorities do not fulfill their responsibilities and people cannot live under them any more. Mutineers or plotters act not only against the will of the authorities but also against the will of the people, and, in that situation, “society with the help of the authorities must be able to defend itself.” “If they cannot defend themselves, woe to them,” stated the protopriest.
In answer to the question how to define if people in the streets are participants of people’s uprising or mutineers, the protopriest responded that “ for that, there are public and state institutions: police, secret services and the part of the intellectual elite which is able to unmask a plot or mutiny and call the spade the spade.”
The protopriest noted that people’s uprising took place in the world many times. One of the vivid examples is “what has recently happened in Egypt.” According to Chaplin, a different situation was in Russia in 1917.