Ilmira from St Petersburg about one year warI am Ilmira and I am Russian!
I am here because today is 1 year since Putin has been started an aggressive war against Ukraine. I couldn't not come. A year of pain, fear and shame. I have to be here. And to be honest. I don't know how to talk about it. BUT THE FIRST THINGS I WANT TO SAY MY CONDOLENCES FOR ALL UKRAINIAN PEOPLE. PLEASE FORGIVE US! War is always war... we can say that was just a little war, or the war was horrible... but its only expression. In real life WAR is always a big tragedy. That is tragedy for the both sides. That is tragedy for the all humanity. Every day when I see the news my hart bleeds. It's like I'm dying with every Ukrainian who died. But I'm Russian and I also feel pain when I see what's going on with my country, with my nation there. I feel this pain every day, every hour, every moment. Ilmira komt uit Sint Petersburg en hield deze toespraak bij de herdenking van één jaar oorlog op 24 februari 2023 op het Museumplein. |
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The war has taken thousands of lives, destroyed entire cities, and turned millions of families into refugees.
The war divided the world, made it black and white.
Vladimir Putin as the one responsible for this tragedy. He become a true symbol of evil. That is a fact.
And more sad to see how today people in Russia are treated as enemies. The main claim against the Russians: You did not resist the aggressive policies of your government, and that makes you accomplices to crimes of war. But trust me, that is not quite right.
In 2022, almost 20 thousand oppositionists were arrested by the police at protest actions. Many of them now in prison. The most famous are Ilya Yashin, Aleksei Gorinov, Evgeniy Roizman. Its means the Russian opposition does not have leaders any more.
In the past year, around 1,5 million citizens have left Russia. Just because they don't want to participate in Putin's crime.
Of course you can give me a question - 20 000 and 1,5 million, but what about the rest more then 100 million. That is good point.
But what about those millions of Ukrainians who still live in Russia? They are also keep silence.
I want to scream in hopelessnes. Our lifes will neve be same. You as a people of the free world do not have so much imagination to imagine what it means to live in Russia.
People in Russia live like hostages
Those who remain in Russia are living with the rights of hostages. Many of them don’t support the war, but they remain silent, afraid of repressions. But the silence of a hostage who has a terrorist’s gun to his head does not make him an accomplice to the terrorist.
But I'm here not for an excuse. We are guilty, but not of what you accuse us.
we are guilty because choosing between force and truth, we chose force. We exchanged love for fear and hatred.
We are all to blame, including those who, like me, have always been against the current government. Because we could not defend our position. We did not see the scale of the catastrophe that Putin had prepared for us. And now I can say it is we who allowed Putin to become who he is now.
Ilya Yashin, how i have said before, russian opposition politician got 8,5 years in prison. Just because he had try to tell us about Bucha. But he didn't give up. A couple days ago He wrote the article. And now i want to share it.
He said:
'I want to appeal to the wisdom of the international community. Do not demean the Russians, as that kind of rhetoric will only strengthen Putin’s power. By shifting the blame for war crimes from the Kremlin junta onto my fellow citizens, you are easing the Putin regime’s moral and political burden. You are giving him a chance to hide from the just accusations of people who have in essence become a human shield in this situation. I see that as a serious mistake.
Putin has brought enormous suffering to the Ukrainian people. But with this barbaric war he is also killing my country—Russia. I believe that Russians can become allies of the free world in resisting this tyrant. Just extend a hand to my fellow citizens.'
This was written in DETENTION CENTER N1. UDMURTIA RUSSIA
I absolutely support this position and believe that it will to help stop the war and protect the world from new Mariupol , Bucha and Irpen
Stop the war! Peace for Ukraine! Freedom for Russia!
The war divided the world, made it black and white.
Vladimir Putin as the one responsible for this tragedy. He become a true symbol of evil. That is a fact.
And more sad to see how today people in Russia are treated as enemies. The main claim against the Russians: You did not resist the aggressive policies of your government, and that makes you accomplices to crimes of war. But trust me, that is not quite right.
In 2022, almost 20 thousand oppositionists were arrested by the police at protest actions. Many of them now in prison. The most famous are Ilya Yashin, Aleksei Gorinov, Evgeniy Roizman. Its means the Russian opposition does not have leaders any more.
In the past year, around 1,5 million citizens have left Russia. Just because they don't want to participate in Putin's crime.
Of course you can give me a question - 20 000 and 1,5 million, but what about the rest more then 100 million. That is good point.
But what about those millions of Ukrainians who still live in Russia? They are also keep silence.
I want to scream in hopelessnes. Our lifes will neve be same. You as a people of the free world do not have so much imagination to imagine what it means to live in Russia.
People in Russia live like hostages
Those who remain in Russia are living with the rights of hostages. Many of them don’t support the war, but they remain silent, afraid of repressions. But the silence of a hostage who has a terrorist’s gun to his head does not make him an accomplice to the terrorist.
But I'm here not for an excuse. We are guilty, but not of what you accuse us.
we are guilty because choosing between force and truth, we chose force. We exchanged love for fear and hatred.
We are all to blame, including those who, like me, have always been against the current government. Because we could not defend our position. We did not see the scale of the catastrophe that Putin had prepared for us. And now I can say it is we who allowed Putin to become who he is now.
Ilya Yashin, how i have said before, russian opposition politician got 8,5 years in prison. Just because he had try to tell us about Bucha. But he didn't give up. A couple days ago He wrote the article. And now i want to share it.
He said:
'I want to appeal to the wisdom of the international community. Do not demean the Russians, as that kind of rhetoric will only strengthen Putin’s power. By shifting the blame for war crimes from the Kremlin junta onto my fellow citizens, you are easing the Putin regime’s moral and political burden. You are giving him a chance to hide from the just accusations of people who have in essence become a human shield in this situation. I see that as a serious mistake.
Putin has brought enormous suffering to the Ukrainian people. But with this barbaric war he is also killing my country—Russia. I believe that Russians can become allies of the free world in resisting this tyrant. Just extend a hand to my fellow citizens.'
This was written in DETENTION CENTER N1. UDMURTIA RUSSIA
I absolutely support this position and believe that it will to help stop the war and protect the world from new Mariupol , Bucha and Irpen
Stop the war! Peace for Ukraine! Freedom for Russia!
Ilmira is from St Petersburg. She spoke these words at the protest against the war on Museumplein Februari 24 2023, one year after the brutal attack on Ukraine.