Defend Ukraine independence! Demand Moscow’s troops out now – The Militant

‘Russia is not Putin’

Inside Russia opponents of the war continue to find ways to express their opposition to the slaughter.

“I hear the voices of Russia” is the title of a series of artworks created by Alisa Gorshenina in Nizhny Tagil, a city in the Urals. One piece repeats the phrase, “We are against the war” in different languages.

“Russia is a multinational country, and I noticed that people had started to speak out against the war in their native languages,” she told the Moscow Times. A fifth of Russia’s population of 144 million are from over 160 ethnicities other than Russian. The Russian army’s foot soldiers come disproportionately from poorer regions like Buryatia and Dagestan and suffer high casualty rates in Ukraine. This spurs protests in these areas.

Hundreds have been dragged before Russian courts charged with the “crime” of spreading “fake news” about the war.

Dmitry Ivanov was sentenced to over eight years in prison March 7. He was accused of “political hatred” for posting online news about Moscow’s deadly attacks on Ukrainian civilians.

The day of the verdict, his supporters packed the courtroom. Ivanov expressed solidarity with fellow political prisoners and asked his supporters to write them letters and to attend their trials.

“Russia is not Putin. Tens of millions of Russians are against this criminal war,” he said. He noted that many have relatives in Ukraine. “This is a dark moment of our history, but the darkest moment always comes before dawn.”

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Defend Ukraine independence! Demand Moscow’s troops out now – The Militant

Photo: Cape on artist Alisa Gorshenina in the Urals region of Russia says “No to war” in more than a dozen of the languages spoken across the huge country. “Russia is a multinational country, and I noticed that people had started to speak out against the war in their native languages,” she said.