I have already spent one year in your wonderful country and I have watched your television. The [news] programs Vesti and Vremya are very good shows. All of your propaganda is working excellently. Most of the Russian population believes what they are saying. Putin is great. There are fascists in Ukraine. Russia is never wrong. There are enemies everywhere. This is very good propaganda.
But I also understand that there are people who are smarter – such as you, for instance, here – who support the government. You perfectly well understand that there are no fascists in Ukraine. That Crimea was annexed illegally. That your troops are fighting in Donbass [a claim Russia has repeatedly denied]. Even I – sitting here in prison – know that your troops are fighting in Donbass.
[They] understand what is happening in the world – what horrible crimes your leadership is committing.
[...] But besides all these people, there is yet another part of the Russian population that knows perfectly well what is going on. But these people are afraid of something. They think that nothing can be changed. That everything will continue as it is. That the system cannot be broken. That they are alone. That there are few of us. That we will all be thrown into prison. That they will kill us, destroy us. And they sit quietly, as mice in their holes.
We also had a criminal regime, but we came out against it. They didn’t want to listen to us – so we beat on trash cans. They didn’t want to see us – so we set tyres on fire. In the end, we won.
The same thing will happen with you, sooner or later. I don’t know what form it will take and I don’t wish to see anyone suffer. I simply wish for you to no longer be governed by criminals.
[...] But besides all these people, there is yet another part of the Russian population that knows perfectly well what is going on. But these people are afraid of something. They think that nothing can be changed. That everything will continue as it is. That the system cannot be broken. That they are alone. That there are few of us. That we will all be thrown into prison. That they will kill us, destroy us. And they sit quietly, as mice in their holes.
We also had a criminal regime, but we came out against it. They didn’t want to listen to us – so we beat on trash cans. They didn’t want to see us – so we set tyres on fire. In the end, we won.
The same thing will happen with you, sooner or later. I don’t know what form it will take and I don’t wish to see anyone suffer. I simply wish for you to no longer be governed by criminals.
