At least a thousand Russian opponents in exile, led byr Yulia Navalnayawife of the dissident who died in prison Alekséi Navalny, denounced on Sunday in Berlin lwar in Ukraine and to the president Vladimir Putinin a march that seeks to reactivate a movement weakened by repression and dissent. The protest in the German capital, where numerous exiles and Russian opponents reside, began by chanting slogans such as “No to war”, “Russia without Putin” or “Russia will be free”, AFP reporters indicated.
According to the organizers, uabout 2,000 people have participated in the march, which ended in front of the Russian embassy in Germany.
The opposition, which lost its main figure, Alekséi Navalny, in February, who died in murky circumstances in prison, was practically eradicated in Russia by a methodical repression that imprisoned thousands of people in recent years. The Berlin demonstration was called by three prominent opponents in exile: Yulia NavalnayaNavalni’s widow; the former Moscow municipal deputy Ilia Yashinrecently released from prison; and Vladimir Kara-Murzaa Kremlin critic who survived prison and two poisoning attempts.
“aggressive war”
“The march seeks to unite all those who oppose Vladimir Putin’s aggressive war in Ukraine and political repressions in Russia,” the organizers have indicated. in a statement. The protest demands “the immediate withdrawal“of Russian troops from Ukraine, the impeachment of Putin and his trial as a “war criminal” and the release of all political prisoners detained in Russia.
The opposition in exile was also weakened by several scandals, such as the hammer attack by a Navalny ally who attributes the aggression to the current of ex-oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky. Navalni’s anti-corruption foundation was accused of having covered up operations by corrupt bankers in Russia.
The last major opposition protests in Russia go back in March from this year, when thousands of people attended Navalni’s funeral despite the risks; already February 2022, to denounce the start of the invasion from Ukraine.
