«I am very grateful that you came out and showed: Putin is not Russia. We are Russia. We are against the war, against aggression, we are for a free peaceful Russia», said one of the organizers of the rally, Ilya Yashin*. The main march, organized by Yashin along with Yulia Navalnaya** and Vladimir Kara-Murza*, took place in Berlin. Simultaneously, the same anti-war rallies were held in many cities across Europe. Participants called for the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine, a trial for Vladimir Putin, and the release of Russian political prisoners.
Before this, residents of Auckland, Sydney, and Tokyo took to the streets, protesting against Putin and the war in Ukraine.
In Berlin, according to a correspondent from «Meduza»***, 6-7 thousand people attended.
At the head of the column was former political prisoner Kevin Leek, who was released as a result of an exchange of Russian political prisoners for Russian criminals serving their sentences in foreign prisons. Oleg Orlov*, who was also freed after an exchange on August 1, participated in the Berlin march.
Attendees chanted: «No to war», «Peace for Ukraine», «Putin is a murderer», «Russia will be free», and «Freedom for political prisoners».
The organizers addressed the crowd from an improvised stage, which was an ordinary table. «This is my first time speaking on a table. But if I need to climb on a table and say that Putin is a murderer, I will climb on a table and say that Putin is a murderer», declared Yulia Navalnaya.
In his speech, Vladimir Kara-Murza recalled the entry of Soviet troops into Prague in 1968 and the «For our freedom and yours» demonstration on Red Square in Moscow. «At that time, Prague newspapers wrote: «Now we have seven reasons why we can never hate Russians». Today the free world has thousands of reasons».
In Prague, where today is celebrated as the Day of Struggle for Freedom and Democracy, not only Czech politicians spoke at the rally, but also former Slovak President Zuzana Čaputová. In Warsaw, Russians gathered at Castle Square.
In Montenegro, marches took place in three cities — Podgorica, Budva, and Herceg Novi.
* Recognized in Russia as «foreign agents».
** Included in the list of «extremists and terrorists».
*** Recognized in Russia as a «foreign agent» and «undesirable» organization.