Thread by @fascinatorfun

A Few Members of Russia's Parliament Speak Out Against War - The New York Times

They say they were told that troops were going in as peacekeepers in Luhansk and Donetsk …not that it would be a full scale invasion. That’s what they voted on.

nytimes.com/2022/02/28/wor…

Three members of Russia’s rubber-stamp Parliament have criticized their country’s war in Ukraine, a rare episode of dissent from within the Russian establishment.

“All three members belong to Russia’s Communist Party, which is nominally part of the opposition to the governing United Russia party but typically remains loyal to President Vladimir V. Putin on key issues.”

“Oleg Smolin, another Communist member from Siberia, wrote on his Vkontakte social media profile that he was “shocked” when the invasion began. “As a Russian intellectual, I am convinced that military force should be used in politics only as a last resort,” he said”

A 3rd Communist deputy, Mikhail Matveyev from the Samara region, said on SM that the war must be immediately stopped.
“I voted for peace, not for war,” he allegedly wrote on Twitter and Telegram

“For Russia to become a shield, so that Donbas is not bombed, and not for Kyiv to be bombed.”

Who did he think was going to bomb Donbas?

This is a fascinating (& very worrying) exchange between @DavidSteadson and Russian cousins of his wife.

It confirms an interview on Newsnight tonight. Mostly Russian people are believing the Putin propaganda. They really do.

David’s response was remarkably restrained.

https://twitter.com/davidsteadson/status/1498639665875849223