today, chronicle in a different format: a collage of statements made since February 24 by Russians, living in the country or having left it recently… without any ambition to the “scientific” representativeness of opinion in Russia . But such points of view are not marginal, and we will read the opinion, on this point, of the very last of the speakers quoted.
Modest proposal to submit the idea that there is not only the “macro” or geopolitical prism (“the ambition” of NATO, Ukraine “American pawn”, “encirclement” of Russia, etc.) to understand something about it. And that it is also necessary, in the face of this drama, to listen to the beings of flesh and blood who think, who speak, who endure or who fight.
In Ukraine certainly, victim of this aggression, but also in Russia, centuries-old land of empire and human suffering, suffered and inflicted.
Boris Bondarev, former diplomat in the Russian delegation to the UN, in an article published in mid-October, five months after his resignation. “Never have I been so ashamed of my country. »
“The war shows that Russia is no longer just dictatorial and aggressive; it became a fascist state. »
“Russian propaganda has prevented the Kremlin from seeing reality. […] The consequences of this ignorance are now fully visible in Ukraine. »
“As long as Putin is in power, Ukraine will have no one in Moscow to really negotiate with. »
Vladimir Kara-Murza, imprisoned writer and filmmaker, winner in October 2022 of the Václav Havel Human Rights Prize. Statement made from prison. “Since February, the last independent media in Russia have been silenced. The authorities have imposed almost total censorship of the Internet and social networks. Hastily passed new laws criminalized public opposition to the war with up to 15 years in prison.
Just like in communist Czechoslovakia which imprisoned Havel; just as in the Soviet Union which imprisoned thousands of dissidents, in Vladimir Putin’s Russia, telling the truth is considered a crime against the state. »
Marina Ovsiannikova, a journalist who appeared on live television in March during a newscast, sporting anti-war slogans. Having first paid a fine, she faced further prosecution and house arrest, from which she fled in October. “Stop the war; they lie to you. “The Russians against the war.” “Putin is a murderer. Its soldiers are fascists. “What is happening in Ukraine is a real crime. And Russia is the aggressor. »
Iouri Doud, filmmaker and youtuber famous in his country for his interviews and documentaries on Stalinist repressions, HIV in Russia, etc.“Vladimir Putin is caught in an imperialist frenzy. »
Elvira Vikhareva, municipal politician in Moscow.“No one has the right to judge [ceux] who is leaving. But this is where Russia’s future is at stake, not in Europe. Personally, I consider that I have a moral responsibility to stay, especially at this time, in times of war. […] If you were given a summons, your best friend is called the trash can. […] They are criminals in stripes. »
Dmitry Muratov, journalist at Novaya GazetaNobel Peace Prize 2021.“We are in pain. Our country, on the orders of President Putin, started a war against Ukraine. And no one can stop it. This is why to our suffering is added shame. »
Alexeï Navalny, from his penal colony, through his lawyer.“The strategy should be to make Russia and its government, naturally, without coercion, not want to start wars and find them unattractive. […] The question of post-war Russia must become the central question […]. No long-term goal can be achieved without a plan to ensure that the source of the problems stops creating them. »
Excerpts from the Telegram group of wives of soldiers conscripted after the “partial mobilization” of September 21. “Putin is sending our guys to obvious death. “It’s easy to excite everyone with the nuke from your bunker…” “There shouldn’t be a war.” Men must live with their families. “Can someone tell me, without the nonsense of propaganda, why they are there?” »
Lev Goudkov, scientific director of the Levada Center, the last tolerated polling house in Russia. “Trust in television has gone […] from 70% to 55%. […] At the same time, all other sources of information were eliminated. […] There is only one story, which is based on the well-established idea that Russia is a besieged fortress.
In a significant part of society, the idea that dominates is that the State is a master who is always right.
L’Homo putinus is indeed an extension ofhomo sovieticus. It’s the same but more cynical, with even less faith in the future. »
With Foreign Affairs, Le Monde, The Washington Post, El País, Limes — italian journal of geopolitics
François Brousseau is an international business analyst at Ici Radio-Canada. [email protected]