Translated by Irene Cecchi
On November 17th, in Berlin, there has been a march organized by some members of the Russian political opposition, including Yulia Navalnaya –Aleksej Navalny’s wife, the main exponent of the opposition who died in a Russian prison on February 2024– but also Ilya Yashin e Vladimir Kara-Murza, who were freed in August thanks to the biggest prisoner exchange between Russia and Western Countries after the Cold War times. The protesters were demanding the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine, a trial against Putin for his war crimes and the liberation of all political prisoners.
About two thousand people took part in the march with chantings like “Russia without Putin” and “No to Putin, no to war” until arriving in front of the Russian embassy in Berlin. When announcing the event, Navalnaya affirmed that it is a way to show that a free and democratic Russia still exists. In fact, this is the first and biggest march abroad against the Russian president since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine and many wonder if it will lead to some actual result. It is easy to find a parallelism with another huge march that was demanding the same thing ten years ago: the troop withdrawal from occupied Crimea. This protest took place in Moscow on September 21st 2014, with more than 50000 people participating, but still no one listened to them, just like all the other protests of that year in Russia.
A little hope coming from the march in Berlin is the manifested and temporary reconciliation of the opposition internal divisions. One of the reasons why the Russian opposition doesn’t look strong, not even abroad, is the evident and deep division and lack of trust inside itself. Moreover, there is no clean and joint political program and there are different ideas about the path to pursue after the Putin era. Among the already mentioned Navalnaya, Kara-Murza e Yashin, other important members of the opposition are Mikhail Khodorkovsky e Maxim Katz, both exiled abroad. Khodorkovsky, a former influential oligarch, was playing against Putin since the early 2000, reason why he was firstly incarcerated in 2003 and then released in 2013 thanks to pressure by Germany. Katz was firstly known for his activism in Moscow and he recently published an investigative report accusing the FBK, Navalny’s anti-corruption foundation, of covering for Russian bankers’ illegal activities who would have funded the organization. Regardless of the veracity of these accusations, the opposition doesn’t look good, with its image tarnished and so, less effective.
The Russian opposition is clearly divided, not only in the purposes and means but also geographically. Only now, Berlin seems to be taking the role of crucial hub for dissidents' activities, otherwise spread all around Europe. In fact, many well-known or emergent Russian opposers, political activists, human rights advocators and independent journalists are now living here, working and gathering to discuss Russian future.
But why is Berlin taking up this role? First of all, it’s easy to remember when many dissidents of the Russian Tsarist regime sought refuge in Berlin after the October revolution and in the 20s. So, it wouldn’t be the first time that Berlin turns into a hub for exiled Russians’ political activity even though it’s not the first city for Russians inhabitants. Countries like Lithuania, Georgia or Armenia clearly beat it but they do not give the same comfort for such activities. In fact, even though these last two countries are independent, the Russian influence is still strong, while the case of Lithuania is different: here, they are way less tolerant regarding political dissidents compared to Germany. German society, in fact, is generally more comprehensive and welcoming, adding to the fact that the Russian community there is already big and consequently able to provide a support network. All this, along with the fact that Berlin is comparatively cheaper than other European capitals, explains why Russian political opposers chose it as base after the beginning of the war in Ukraine in 2022.
The organizers announced another march in Berlin, due in March 2025. The hope is that this movement brings together the Russian opposition, with more unity and cooperation, starting from Berlin. In fact, if the opposition abroad is divided, in Russia it is almost nonexistent, due to the system that, according to Human Rights Watch, is the most repressive one since the end of the soviet era. It is extremely difficult to create a new political power that can compete and be an alternative to the current regime due to internal divisions and the lack of a clear plan. Anyways, it’s important to show that the Russian opposition can unify and carry out actions impossible in Russia, as Vladimir Kara-Murza says. We clearly can’t expect these events to be determinant in the evolution of war but, for sure, they send an important message because, despite all, all these groups agree on something: the Putin regime must end, as well as the terrible war in Ukraine.
Mondo Internazionale APS - Riproduzione Riservata ® 2024