Posted
Article written by
/2021/12/14/61b8b98e077d1_france-2.png)
In Moscow, many passers-by say they want the conflict to end. Some would even like to see Vladimir Putin leave office. Further protests could soon take place despite the ban.
At the foot of the Kremlin it is a symbolic gesture, discreet but heavy with meaning. A few flowers placed on Tuesday, March 1, on the monument of the Ukrainian martyr cities of the Second World War, such as Kiev or Odessa. Those Muscovites who agree to respond are clearly against the war. “Everything should have been settled peacefully so that people don’t die”laments one of them. “Ukraine is a brother people, so I am against”, hammers another. Some even want Vladimir Putin to go. Others still have boundless admiration for him: “The whole population is with him and I think that Ukraine is also our country”.
Impossible to know how many Russians are against the war. On Sunday February 27, around fifty demonstrations took place across the country. Since February 24, nearly 6,500 people have been arrested. Despite the risks, Russian public figures are speaking out against the war in Ukraine, such as the popular singer Sergei Lazarev, or the star presenter of the first Russian television channel. “Despite the ban, new calls to demonstrate could be launched everywhere in Russia”explains Lionel Feuerstein, correspondent for France Television Moscow.