Call to action!
"It is our responsibility to show the international community a clear antiwar stance that we as Russian citizens, free from the claws of Putin's regime and propaganda machine, are taking"
message from @rusdemsoc
"We cannot allow ourselves to get used to this criminal war, let alone remain silent when Putin claims that it is being waged on our behalf and with our support." @rusdemsoc
These banners speak volumes (Prague, 26.3.2022)
It's been nearly a year since Putin has started an atrocious war against Ukraine
On Feb 24-26 there will be massive rallies & demonstrations held by Russians all over the world to protest against this terrible war
Russians living abroad, join them!
📷 Russians in 🇨🇿 (26.3.2022)
📢 Save the Date
📣 Russians all over the world protesting against this terrible war
🗓 When? February 24-26
3.5 million people went to sleep in Ukraine and may wake up in Russia, depending on what happens in Alaska today.
Those who resisted may face prosecution. Those who fled lose everything.
🧵 What Putin brings to Alaska (read on)
Another 200,000 people live directly along the contact line, their homes straddling what might become a permanent border. Their families are already split between two worlds.
Some relatives made it to Ukrainian-controlled territory. Others stayed behind under occupation. If Trump and Putin fix these lines today, these separations become permanent. Brothers become foreigners. Parents lose children to citizenship laws they never chose.
Russia's military intelligence hired a convicted killer to run 'economic conferences' in Kazakhstan — southern neighbor that refused to back Putin's war.
What @dossier_center uncovered:
In late 2022, Colonel Denis Smolyaninov, a senior officer in the GRU’s Special Activities Service (Russian military intelligence), received a plan for influence operations in northern Kazakhstan
The proposal called for setting up a civic group and a media outlet in the capital, to promote a positive image of Russia, push ‘friendship’ narratives between Russians and Kazakhs, and counter ‘fake’ stories about ethnic tensions
Russian sixth-grader Masha Moskaleva drew an anti-war picture at school. Her father went to prison for it.
🧵They escaped Russia and applied for German protection. Germany said no.
It began with a child's drawing in 2022. Rather than seeing a child's expression, her school principal saw sedition in it and reported it to the police. This immediately activated the repressive state machinery.
Authorities didn't target the child directly. Instead, they went after her single father, Alexey Moskalev. They dug through his social media for "evidence" of disloyalty to the regime and found what they wanted. Alexey was charged with "discrediting" the Russian army over social media posts.
Some analysts still quote Dmitry Medvedev's war threats as if they mean anything.
🧵Let me explain why the former president's social media rants deserve pity, not serious analysis.
I knew several good people who were completely transformed by excessive alcohol consumption. Dmitry Medvedev was first changed by fear, then by the alcohol he used to treat that fear.
Several of his former associates now sit in prison with long sentences. Others were forced—literally—to kneel and beg for forgiveness. Medvedev simply lost himself in a bottle.
Europe just welcomed Russia's #3 official—the woman who personally signed off on invading Ukraine—to a conference in Geneva.
While ordinary Russians can't get tourist visas, sanctioned war enablers flew freely through EU airspace.
🧵So... who is Valentina Matviyenko?
Matviyenko ranks third in Russia's hierarchy after Putin and Prime Minister Mishustin. She's been speaker of the Federation Council since 2011 and a permanent member of Putin's Security Council.
In March 2020, she led the constitutional amendment vote that reset Putin's term limits. 160 senators voted in favor, 1 against. These changes allow Putin to potentially remain in power until 2036. She called it "one of the most important issues in Russia's modern history."
He orchestrated the annexation of Crimea. He predicts NATO's death. He funds European extremists and works with expelled Russian spies.
Right now, he's in Geneva as a legitimate "parliamentarian"
🧵 Here’s what you should know about Leonid Slutsky
The 6th World Conference of Parliament Speakers is happening in Geneva under the theme of "parliamentary cooperation for peace, justice and prosperity."
Russia sent 10 delegates, led by the speaker of the Russian Senate Valentina Matvienko. Most in the delegation are under Western sanctions.
Among them is Leonid Slutsky, Chairman of the Duma Committee on International Affairs since 2016 and leader of the LDPR party since 2022.
But his real influence goes back much further. Let me tell you about February 24, 2014.