Russians continue to speak out for the Ukraine-Russia War

Russian protesters ranging from young citizens to middle-aged and retired people continue to speak out in the streets against the military conflict started by their Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Russian authorities, on the other hand, are swiftly shutting down any public dissent and demonstrations against the attack on Ukraine through detainment or violence. According to an independent organization that tracks human rights violations in Russia, there are at least 350 anti-war protesters arrested on Wednesday, amounting to 7,624 arrests since the invasion began. Aside from the protesters, two Russian oligarchs also oppose their President’s military operations. Alfa-Group co-founder and billionaire businessman Mikhail Fridman called the violence “a tragedy” and that “a war can never be the answer.” The Ukraine-born Russian businessman had to stop short in criticizing the President directly as it might create implications for the company and its entire stakeholders. Basic Element founder and billionaire businessman Oleg Deripaska also echoed Fridman’s call for peace as he wrote in his Telegram post that “negotiations need to start as soon as possible.” Russia’s “intelligentsia” members including academics, writers, and journalists have issued a rare “open letter” to Putin with 1,200 signatures of students, faculty, and staff of MGIMO University, the prestigious Moscow State Institute of International Relations that produced the most government and foreign service elite of the country. The letter has a proclamation of the signers’ disapproval of the military actions in Ukraine as the people in the neighboring state is “dying through the fault of those who preferred weapons instead of peaceful diplomacy” and that “the good relations with our neighbors have been lost.” The head of the Russian delegation in the United Nations Oleg Anisimov reportedly apologized for the military operation “on behalf of all Russians who were not able to prevent the conflict” during a UN meeting on climate change. Despite the numerous media reports regarding the Russia-Ukraine conflict, many Russians are still not factually informed of what is happening in Ukraine. State-controlled television shows focus on the so-called Ukrainian “nationalist” and “neo-fascist” instead of the reports of Russian bombings and attacks on the Ukrainian cities. The effect of the lack of true information drives an internal conflict as well between the adults who believe in the television news shows and the young people who rely on the internet for information which has mostly been long blocked by the nation. For the Russians equipped with the truth of Putin’s decision to attack Ukraine, it has created contradictory, polar-opposite reactions of either being ashamed or refusing to pin the shame on them for the decisions that they did not make. Despite that, the entire Russian people agree and would like the international community to know that “the people are not their President, and we didn’t choose this.” KSO/Expat Media
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