What Is Currently Happening in Russia and What Does It Say About Putin’s Regime?
I wonder how far does it have to go for everyone to finally uncover the ugly reality of Putin’s regime and find enough strength to resist it?
Today, a young woman got arrested and sentenced to 8 days for holding a blank poster in the middle of Rostov-on-Don, Russia. However, as unfair and ridiculous as it sounds, this is not a precedent in my country.
While we have our own kind of nightmare here in Russia, I can’t even begin to imagine how terrible it is to be in neighboring Ukraine right now. Bombs are falling. Apartment buildings are being blown up. Cities are being destroyed. Families are being ripped apart.
I wonder how far does it have to go for everyone to finally uncover the ugly reality of Putin’s regime and find enough strength to resist it? Russia and Ukraine have a long history of complicated relationships and conflicts, but how can our government justify invading another country, destroying peaceful cities, and killing the innocent?
As I come back from the streets of Saint Petersburg, Russia where people are being randomly arrested during their third day of anti-war protesting, I can’t help but think about the level of impunity that’s continuing to prevail within my country.
During the previous two days of protesting, police have approximately arrested over 1400 people.
Dozens of men, women, teenagers, retirees, and victims of the siege were detained for passing by, STANDING on the streets, or holding anti-war posters. Some — brutally beaten up, held in inadequate conditions, and deprived of the right to counsel, just the way it was when we went outside to support Alexi Navalny last spring.
Some of my friends are still missing, without their phones, God knows where waiting for their trial. A trial that will most likely result in a sentence or significant penalty. A penalty for wishing the PEACE.
