Document. Since last summer, I have been in prison for speaking out against the invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces. The Russian authorities decided to silence me and sentenced me to eight and a half years in prison, but I have no intention of staying silent. I want my voice, that of a Russian patriot opposing war and dictatorship, to be heard. It is very important for me to have the opportunity to speak honestly to my compatriots, even from behind bars. But I also understand the importance of dialogue with the world.
The aggression against Ukraine was rendered possible for several reasons. First of all, it is the responsibility of the Russians, including my own as a representative of the Russian people. Unfortunately, we allowed the emergence of a revanchist dictatorship in our country and failed to create effective mechanisms of public control over power and law enforcement. As has been said, we sacrificed freedom for order and well-being and ended up losing freedom, order and well-being. Now we have even earned the reputation of occupiers. We will be paying for these mistakes for a very long time.
However, I would also like to point out the responsibility of the international community, which for many years adopted a policy of appeasement towards Vladimir Putin's regime and thus repeated the historic mistake that led Europe into the Second World War. For two decades, Putin got away with everything: usurpation of power and corruption, repression of the opposition and political assassinations, military interventions and annexations of foreign territories. (...)
In the year following the annexation of Crimea [in 2014] and the tragedy of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, as well as the assassination of Boris Nemtsov, Putin remained, in the eyes of the West, a legitimate president. (...) World leaders solemnly welcomed the Russian dictator to the world's capitals, bought oil and gas from him, sold components for weapons systems and technologies to him, perceived him as an equal. This policy ultimately gave Putin a sense of total impunity. The war was already raging, while means of repressing demonstrations were still being delivered to Russia: In July 2022, the European Commission announced that it planned to include tear gas, fingerprint ink, helmets, shields and water cannons in a new sanctions package. And these same people indignantly ask the Russians: Why aren't you protesting?
Let's face it, we have all, in one way or another, watered the bed in which Putin's Napoleonic ambitions germinated. We all bear responsibility for the consequences. And this issue must also be resolved collectively.
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