in Russia, opponents of the regime hunted down by pro-Putin activists

Across Russia, pro-Putin activists are denouncing opponents of the Kremlin. They spray “Z” on their doors, throw paint on them. The France Télévisions teams followed them to Moscow (Russia). “We support the Russian army, which liberates Ukraine from the fascists“, declares one of them. That evening, they target activists guarding a memorial which annoys the Kremlin.”Your action is illegal, you have no right to be here“, invective the activists. They claim not to be paid by the power, and refuse to say how many they are.

“We’re doing this to draw people’s attention to the naysayers’ problem.“, explains Gocha Beketov, pro-Putin activist. Radical groups are also active in Saint Petersburg (Russia), a bastion of protest. Maxime, a student who took part in several demonstrations against the operation in Ukraine, was the victim of their actions: the inscription “Here dwells the traitor“was written on his door during his absence. Excrement was also deposited. He accuses the same nationalist group.”They say their goal is to destroy us. I’m not very happy to tell you this, but I think they are succeeding“, says the young man.