The anti-war march united those who oppose war, tyranny, and political assassinations. It is timed to coincide with the tenth anniversary of Boris Nemtsov's murder, the third anniversary of the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and the anniversary of Alexei Navalny's** murder in the colony.
A column in support of political prisoners is participating in the march. People hold posters with photos of those in Russian prisons for political reasons. At the head of the column is former co-chairman of «Memorial»* Oleg Orlov*, released in August 2024 as part of a swap between Russia and the USA. Orlov came to the event with a portrait of Arseny Turbin — a teenager sentenced to five years in prison for distributing leaflets criticizing the authorities.
A separate group of activists from the «Russian Volunteer Corps»***, fighting as part of the Ukrainian Armed Forces against Russian troops, has formed. This column includes several dozen people.
In his speech, Ilya Yashin reminded of the root causes of the war now in its third year. «The war must end with a just peace. The war must end with a security guarantee and Putin behind bars. <...> I want to remind everyone who bargains with Putin, who makes deals with him, who plays cards with him: the dictator is not Zelensky, but Putin. The war was not started by Ukraine, but by the Putin regime. And you cannot shift the blame from the aggressor to the victim!» — Yashin stated.
Yashin also called the events in the Oval Office of the White House the day before a «disgrace». «For me, as probably for everyone present here, this war is not a deal, human lives are not a subject of trade. It is a personal tragedy for me because this war has pitted the two closest peoples in Europe against each other», — said the politician.
Evgeny Chichvarkin* at the rally in Berlin called on the opposition to set aside all differences and forgive each other’s grievances to stand as a united front.
According to journalists and activists, between 1,500 and 3,500 people are participating in the event.
Residents of Melbourne, Amsterdam, Rome, Busan, Prague, and Luxembourg also took to the streets of their cities with posters, protesting against Putin and the war in Ukraine.
* Recognized in Russia as «foreign agents».
** Included in the register of «terrorists and extremists».
*** Recognized in Russia as a «terrorist» organization.
Photo: Nawalnys Team Deutschland