free Russia!

But a small fraction of them are fighting. They are getting tortured for it, getting imprisoned for long terms

For example, Ilya Yashin and Dima Ivanov spoke up about Bucha war crimes and were sentenced to 8 1/2 years for hatespeech or discrediting the army-- anyway, one of the ridiculous sentences the Russian "justice" system comes up with

Yes, I acknowledge that there are genuinely good and decent russians who do what they can for the resistance, in one way or another. There are very, very few of them. And they are not the ones writing comments online to whitewash russia's crimes or shift the responsibility by bringing up the two or three people who are persecuted for the slightest resistance, as an excuse for doing nothing and thus silently supporting the genocide and ecocide.

It's not an excuse to do nothing. I never said that. I'm always always thinking about Ukraine and wishing i could do more. I send money. I don't have much money. I share on social media. I hate hate hate what russia is doing. I want to come to Ukraine and help but I doubt i could be a help rather than hindrance (incapable of not being a complete mess) I have 2 other blogs where I share about Ukraine. And I share on Facebook but no one listens. I'm very incapable of most things, so you're probably right, it probably is like doing nothing.

And I am sorry. I should NOT have even replied now because of what's happening. It was insensitive. I get sad about those people trapped under the regime too who try to do something but. You are of course in a much massively dangerous situation.

Me: I hate those despicable creatures and want them to die horrible deaths.

Perhaps people who saw too late are responsible.

There are a few people who are fighting the regime, though. Too few. Easily crushed.

Anyone against the war and speaking out despite the danger is on the same side. You cannot be fake, you cannot have a weak stance, when you face the regime knowing what it could cost you. Stand up for what you believe in, stand up for what's right, risk life and personal safety-- these are the people who are definitely on your side. And they are arrested as enemies of the state.

But a small fraction of them are fighting. They are getting tortured for it, getting imprisoned for long terms

For example, Ilya Yashin and Dima Ivanov spoke up about Bucha war crimes and were sentenced to 8 1/2 years for hatespeech or discrediting the army-- anyway, one of the ridiculous sentences the Russian "justice" system comes up with

The bravery of people who stand alone and face the regime, nothing in their hands but a sign

Russia is not monolithic, no matter how much the regime tells you they're "united"

The people who support the regime have 100% freedom to say what they say.

Those who oppose it are of course afraid to speak.

But some still do anyway. Even after all the examples they have of protesters arrested, harsh sentences. Horror stories of what happens to some.

Some people in Russia are still free. The freedom in their hearts won't be crushed, even if their physical freedom is taken away.

Here is what I found in my email box this morning. This is the imprisoned Russian opposition politician Ilya Yashin’s handwritten response (sent through FSIN-Pismo to the awesome volunteers at RosUznik, who forwarded it to me) to the letter that I sent to Mr. Yashin less than three weeks ago. He writes: Hello, Thomas! I think I remember the public event in Petersburg that you mentioned. Those…

Ilya Yashin. Photo by Irina Zhirkova I have been behind bars for almost eight months and increasingly I come across across a question in the letters people write to me. Was it worth it? they ask. Do you regret staying in Russia? Admit it: if you could turn back time, you would prefer emigration over prison. To be honest, this way of posing the question stumps me. What am I supposed to…

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Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Russian politician and critic of President Vladimir Putin’s government, was arrested by police in Moscow near his home, according to another Russian dissident.

The charges against Kara-Murza are unknown, Russian opposition politician Ilya Yashin said on Twitter. Yashin speculated that the arrest was related to “some kind of anti-war statement in the press,” according to a translation of his tweets. Kara-Murza, a survivor of two suspected poisoning attempts, condemned the Kremlin in a CNN video that aired earlier Monday.

“This regime that is in power in our country today, it’s not just corrupt, it’s not just kleptocratic, it’s not just authoritarian. It is a regime of murderers, and it is important to say it out loud,” Kara-Murza said. He called it “tragic” that “it took a large-scale war in the middle of Europe, which Vladimir Putin is now conducting against Ukraine, for most western leaders to finally open their eyes to the true nature of this regime.”

The Boris Nemtsov Foundation for Freedom, an advocacy group on which Kara-Murza had served as chairman, said it considered the arrest to be “persecution of the opposition” and demanded his immediate release.

Anti-Putin activist Bill Browder tweeted that he had “begged” Kara-Murza weeks earlier not to go back to Moscow. Kara-Murza replied, “how could he ask Russians to stand up to Putin if he was afraid to return himself,” according to Browder’s tweet.

Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/11/russia-ukraine-live-updates.html