One week after his release as part of a prisoner exchange between Russia and Western countries, Russian opposition figure Ilya Yashin appeared in front of crowds in Berlin, Germany.
When Western politicians ask me how they can support the Russian opposition, I say: save Ukraine from Putin and continue to support Ukraine. Because if you save Ukraine, you will help a free Russia".
The 41-year-old highlighted that ending the war in Ukraine is as important to him as promoting democracy in Russia, saying that he wished the Russian flag to be “freed from blood and dirt”.
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The released opposition activist rallied those listening to communicate with friends and relatives still in Russia, “even if it is difficult” as this was one of the few ways to change mindsets on Putin and the war in Ukraine.
According to Yashin, the war in Ukraine is no longer just a battle between two states. It is a battle between good and evil, a battle of freedom against tyranny. “Our strength lies in our convictions and our morals,” said Yashin.
From talking with them there are two, correlated, factors. The most superficial one is that they suffer from extreme geopolitical Manichaeism, in that they view the US as absolutely evil and everyone that has an adversarial relationship with the US as good. The other is that they have Russia inherited the Soviet intelligent apparatus, and this includes the people that built long term relationships with communist party members and supporters, and this allows Russia to manipulate them easily, since they refuse to accept comrade Alexey who pretends to be their friend is actually agent Ivan from the FSB and doesn’t give a fuck about them.