Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why would anyone consider that? (Yes I know the accusations, but they don't appear backed by evidence or reason).
The guy went from "cryptoanarchy" to having a TV show on RT(a propaganda network)and saying Russia has "vibrant" criticism of Putin's regime (beyond absurd). Not to mention him somehow being able to facilitate Snowden's entry into Russia. I'm no fan of imperialist American foreign policy, but Russia is just as grotesque. http://www.repubblica.it/esteri/2016/12/23/news/assange_wiki...
No, he didn't. I know The Guardian said he did, but they mislead readers so badly that the interviewer they were quoting specifically called them out for bad journalism. Wikileaks has gone off the rails lately, but the "vibrant" thing is from a hitpiece that's inaccurate in almost every way.
Assange said "In Russia, there are many vibrant publications, online blogs, and Kremlin critics such as [Alexey] Navalny are part of that spectrum." This wasn't part of a statement about Russia not needing dissent like Wikileaks, but about whether Wikileaks was competent to provide it. He continued "in Russia there are competitors to WikiLeaks, and no WikiLeaks staff speak Russian, so for a strong culture which has its own language, you have to be seen as a local player" and made similar comparisons to China and East Timor.
The question was about Wikileaks efficacy compared to Russian activists, not whether Putin suppresses critics. Note that Assange cited Navalny, a man Putin has put in prison. That shows pretty clear awareness of what criticism means in Russia, but The Guardian pulled the quote without the followup or example.
Worse, The Guardian also cited Assange as offering "praise for Trump" in the interview. That's flatly dishonest - no such statement appears, they just claimed it did. When asked, he described Trump as "gathering around him a spectrum of other rich people and several idiosyncratic personalities".
https://theintercept.com/2016/12/29/the-guardians-summary-of...