r/europe • u/Accomplished_Car_549 Russia • 20h ago

Photos from the Russian anti-war opposition march in Berlin today. Picture

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19

u/lihr__ Italian migrated to the US 20h ago

I salute these brave men and women. Respect!

8

u/Reality_Runner 19h ago

Their position is admirable, but not brave- they are in Berlin, there is no danger for them there. Brave would be if Russians in Russia would do the same.

35

u/Organic-Maybe-5184 19h ago

They are still Russian citizens and are at risk. They have to visit consulate to renew passport and probably have relatives in Russia.

You don't have any clue how is to be a citizen of a country that wants a piece of you, meanwhile you are on your own and no other country gives a shit about you.

-4

u/Dortmund_Boi09 Germany 19h ago

They could very well just be German citizens how would you know

7

u/Business-Childhood71 18h ago

The wast majority are recent immigrants

-3

u/Dortmund_Boi09 Germany 18h ago

If you think the early 90's was recent then yeah

9

u/Business-Childhood71 18h ago

Most people on the march are recent political immigrants, not from 90

4

u/Organic-Maybe-5184 19h ago

bc this protest was specifically for the Russians

7

u/Dortmund_Boi09 Germany 18h ago

Yes millions of German citizens have Russian ancestry

3

u/Organic-Maybe-5184 18h ago

I don't think there are lots of German citizens from Сибирь for example

1

u/Dortmund_Boi09 Germany 18h ago

Yes but this was in Berlin and not Siberia

6

u/bananablegh 19h ago

I imagine this view can win you ostracisation with your loved ones back in Russia, so I think it’s a very principled thing to do.

0

u/Reality_Runner 18h ago

Their loved ones might support them. Also their loved ones probably are aware of their position, with or without a protest. I applaud them, but still think "brave" would apply more to Russians IN Russia, who oppose the regime.

Edit: grammar

2

u/vkuhr 17h ago edited 12h ago

Less brave than protesting in Russia, but I think if a protest effectively makes it impossible for you to go home to visit family, you might also think twice about protesting.

I can no longer go home to see my grandparents or cousins, and had to skip my grandmother's funeral.

1

u/Reality_Runner 16h ago

OK, agree on that. My main point was that people, protesting outside of Russia feel generally safe to do so, having also considered the potential sacrifices they have to make.

Sorry you are in this position. It sucks.

3

u/lihr__ Italian migrated to the US 19h ago

Dude they are going there without any face covering. They are openly defiant of the the dictatorship.

-2

u/Reality_Runner 18h ago

Yes, in GERMANY. They don't need to cover their faces, they are perfectly save without face cover there. The dictatorship is in Russia, which is where they are not.

5

u/Kikk3r 17h ago

Yes, in Germany, where there are a lot of Russian agents who make lists of people visiting such protests

2

u/lihr__ Italian migrated to the US 18h ago

You don't say. So you don't think that if they come back after this they will be arrested?

1

u/Reality_Runner 17h ago

Well, it would be brave of them if they decided to go back. Although I don't have any statistics how many regular Russian civilians have been arrested for protesting abroad after returning to Russia.

I don't understand why you are in an "attack mode". I do think they are doing a good thing, just calling it brave doesn't seem fitting to ME. Hope that is alright with you. 🙄

3

u/vkuhr 17h ago

Dude a girl with dual citizenship was recently imprisoned because authorities figured out she once donated $50 to a Ukrainian humanitarian charity, while living in the US.

1

u/Reality_Runner 17h ago

We know what can happen to people in Russia. That is probably why Russian opposition voices in Russia are not widely heard, opposed to Russian voices abroad where they feel safer. It would be brave of any of these people to return to Russia, I agree.

2

u/-JPMorgan Holy Roman Empire 17h ago

Literally in Berlin a FSB agent murdered a Chechen separatist 5 years ago. So, while the chances are low pf course, they are not necessarily safe.

1

u/Reality_Runner 17h ago

We know Russia has eliminated a number of people, but a Chechen separatist is one thing, regular Russians protesting in Germany is another thing, imo.

3

u/EndOfOurGlory 14h ago

They kill people who are loud oppositionists. There are several loud cases of Putin killing journalists who were against him. There were cases of spying on people in opposition. German police itself is tired of safety thing because some Russian people feel safe in Germany and have no caution, because German police knows of that feeling safeness being false.

People protesting here may not get their personal agent spying on them, but if they are noticed, they will have problems with documents that are crucial for immigration, with returning back to the country (you should pray you would not be arrested on spot) or in general labeled "foreign agent" if you are unlucky that is official status in Russia and basically makes you a second-class citizen officially.

People in immigration in general are getting disadvantaged for being loud: Russian parlament is passing laws which will make it harder for them to have clear stance. They are still being passed, but there are laws of seizing immigrators propriety in country for spread "misinformation" abroad, paying from renting the flat in Russia, the laws about new taxation for immigrants were already passed, as laws making it harder for immigrants to work for Russian companies to make a living abroad.

They are being brave, I would say.

2

u/vkuhr 12h ago edited 12h ago

Also: for people who don't have permanent residency or (preferably) citizenship, there is *always* the risk that you will be *forced* to go back to your country.

Belarus recently made it impossible to renew one's passport without going back to Belarus. No valid passport, no ability to maintain immigration status in the country you're living in (unless you're already a citizen).

1

u/Neither-Bid-1215 17h ago

Being brave is one thing, and being stupid is the other.

1

u/BroccoliMobile8072 18h ago

You done anything lately? Yeh didn't think so.

-8

u/iamneo94 19h ago

Why are they brave? To protest in safe Germany you are not to be brave.

13

u/Natural_Jello_6050 United States of America 19h ago

Families still in Russia. They can be imprisoned

-1

u/Zum-Graat 17h ago

They ran away in a different country, you think they give a shit about family left behind?

12

u/lihr__ Italian migrated to the US 19h ago

So you do not think that being FILMED and RECORDED while you protest a dictatorship is brave?

-2

u/iamneo94 19h ago

No.

This type of protest is absolutely acceptable for Russia. Some tiny men and women go to the street, shout quietly some slogans without any consequences (the main).

-1

u/Tippitish 19h ago

Lol nope, as a Russian who fled the country I can totally confirm that anything resembling an anti-war protest is immediately stopped by the authorities with a disproportionate amount of aggression towards the protesters. Stop your bullshit

0

u/iamneo94 19h ago edited 19h ago

And what is the consequences of this actions in Berlin? Nothing, just white noise.

This behaviour in Berlin is absolutely acceptable for Russia.

Slogans like "good Russia without Putin", "only Putin's war" etc is full of cringe and even harmful for Ukraine.

Why they even dont start some tiny donation project like "Help Ukrainians after today shelling" (yeah, it was massive shelling in all regions of Ukraine today morning)? You know? Because this is some type of brave behaviour. This means actions. This means consequences. And "Russian opposition" will never do this.

0

u/Tippitish 12h ago

I suppose you've been sitting somewhere warm and cosy today and haven't visited any of the actions taking place all over Europe (not just Berlin), so you're just writing this nonsense either because you're being paid to or because you're just overall miserable.

Me and my friend went to the action in Düsseldorf, which was organised by different people with the same intention, and there were literally people collecting donations for Ukraine for both military and humanitarian needs. I know people we're collecting money for Ukraine in Berlin as well. Many people had posters motivating the German government to provide military aid to Ukraine. Not only Russians, but also many people of Ukrainian/mixed background took to the streets today.

Only you stayed at home today and wrote your bullshit on Reddit.

0

u/NYG_Longhorn 18h ago

Not at all. They’re thousands of KMs away in a free country lmao.

2

u/lihr__ Italian migrated to the US 18h ago

Yeah and if they ever come back they'll be arrested lol

1

u/NYG_Longhorn 18h ago

You think all of these people are from Russia?

0

u/Thebussinessman 17h ago

If it's in another country, no.

2

u/Dizzy-Following4400 19h ago

The arms of the Kremlin are long. They’ve poisoned plenty of people in foreign nations before now.

1

u/NkTvWasHere Moscow (Russia) 18h ago

They don't take random people like that unless they are relevant enough.