From New Zealand all the way to Los Angeles, in more than a hundred different cities throughout the world, Russians called for an end to Russian President Putin’s war in Ukraine.
In Luxembourg, while there were only around a dozen protestors at Hamilius on Sunday, it demonstrates how difficult it is to stand in open-opposition to Putin’s regime as a Russian citizen even if you’re 2500 kilometres away from Moscow.
At the Russian elections back in March, 66% of Russians living in Luxembourg voted against Putin. But any opposition to the Kremlin expressed within Russia is dangerous to say the least.
“These are really very difficult times for the Russian opposition. We are being dealt a very difficult hand. It is virtually impossible to express any resistance. The slightest violation of Russian laws can land you in prison. And Russian prisons are terrible. Prisons are cruel places,” Maria expressed.
Russian-British political activist and journalist Vladimir Kara-Murza witnessed first-hand what it means to be declared an enemy of the state by Putin. The same goes for Russian opposition politician Ilya Valeryevich Yashin and Alexei Navalny’s widow, Yulia. This did not stop the hundreds of Russians whether on the streets of Berlin or Luxembourg City holding the same signs: “Freedom for political prisoners in Russia. No to war. No to Putin.”
“He should be prosecuted at the international court!”, Evgenii Pereverzev, who is himself a victim of Putin’s repressive regime, exclaimed.
Nikolay explained: “It is the flag that distinguishes the Russian opposition from the official Russian one. Without the red, the blood that flows in Ukraine. It symbolises the opposition to Putin. And the return of peace in the world and in Russia.”
The protests at Hamilius also served as a warning to politicians here in Luxembourg not to do any business with Russian which allows Putin to continue financing his war. The message was that the West should focus on supporting Ukraine.
Original report in Luxembourgish:
