The three-year anniversary of the war is the time to take a sober look at the situation. What have we been convinced of all this time? – That Russians are outcasts, that they need to be punished and subjected to collective responsibility, and that if they are to be allowed into the civilized world, it will only be after "disinfection."
Many of the oppositionists who successfully made their way to warm places in Europe proposed a variety of repressive measures: for example, there was a proposal to levy a special tax on those who want to travel from Russia to Europe. Its ambassador was Navalny's long-time ally, economist Sergei Guriev.
Another oppositionist, the artist Ekaterina Margolis, who lives in Venice, insisted on de-Russianization courses. Only after completing them and squeezing the empire out of themselves could Russians regain rights such as booking hotels on Booking.com and the ability to make international money transfers. Examples abound: a bad emigrant was one who did not go to rallies for Ukraine. And how bad in the eyes of the opposition and European politicians was that Russian who did not go to jail, did not become a foreign agent, or did not leave – and it is impossible to describe. Then U.S. President Donald Trump came, and it turned out that everything is no longer so. That Zelensky is a mediocre comedian-dictator, that Putin is a very sane guy, and the deal is much more important than any fair peace.
And there was some sense in these words. Let's take a sober look.
Elvira Vikhareva
The Hypocrisy Of The West
What has the West been doing all these three years? With one hand, it has been making life difficult for Russians as best it could. It has been closing borders, depriving us of the opportunity to travel to Europe in our own cars, taking away our savings in stock, humiliating us with all sorts of statements and actions, such as the impossibility of boarding planes with a "red" passport.
With the other hand, the same West has been buying oil and gas from the Putin regime, trading with it under shady schemes, supporting Ukraine only to the extent that it would not lose – but would not win either. In short, it has been doing everything that is usually called hypocrisy – but in politics, where beautiful words about human rights are heard, it is not customary to speak like that.
What has this wise behavior ultimately led to? – A new group has formed among Russians: Those who certainly do not support Putin but also reject the hypocrisy of the West. People consciously go to anti-Putin rallies with the tricolor and say that they are proud of Russia. Because they have no other identity, they will never become one of their own in Europe: the French, the Germans or the Lithuanians.
They were and remain second-class citizens who are forced to ask for visas through connections because they cannot be obtained legally. A life of mercy abroad – those who fought Putin's regime received only that and now must fear that they will be deprived of their residence permits and for unknown, secret reasons declared spies.
Will anyone stand up for them? – No. The West needs workers, migrants who will not demand rights for themselves, but will be grateful for a roof over their heads. Our political struggle does not interest anyone there, because it will not lower gas prices.
The very absence in the fourth year of the war of a clear mechanism for moving, conditions that must be met to become a "first-class" person, speaks of a completely deliberate policy. Thoughtful and cynical: If this war did not exist, it would have to be invented, because Slavic migrants are much more convenient for Europe than Arab ones.
The Russian youth understand all this. The Russian youth will not support Putin – but it will also be disappointed in the ideals declared by the West, because it does not see them. Trump is honest, he is not hypocritical. If they wanted to weaken Putin, they would let him withdraw his money, they would accept him not through clenched teeth, but with open arms: fewer people, fewer resources for the regime – that is the only way to ensure his defeat. But the entry condition is humiliation, because, as has already been said, the goal is completely different. Tell me I'm wrong.
Tell me that I dreamed of Kaja Kallas, the prime minister of Estonia, whose husband traded with Russia while she herself approved more and more bans for Russians, including the impossibility of voting in local elections and buying real estate.
Alas, but all of this was true. And Ukraine became a victim of this calculation, and now it is paying the bills. And it is not about the 500 or 100 billion that President Trump wants – that is just money. It is about hundreds of thousands and millions of lives, about people who died, about people thrown out of their homes, about people who were promised help but in the end were sold at a piecework price.
It will not be better for the Russians. Our opposition is powerless, in all this time it has not achieved anything for us.
This Is A Very Pessimistic Text; Such An Anniversary – Such Thoughts
The West is closing us inside Russia again. And we, those who disagree with Putin, find ourselves locked in a very small room with a maniac, where we are under surveillance: our correspondence is read, our calls are listened to, our words are reported. Our children are taken into the army, and those who refuse are deprived of basic civil rights – including even driving (a new law for those who do not appear when summoned).
But we are still "bad Russians" because we are not sitting yet, because we are trying to survive "among this mortal love."
Yes, this is a very pessimistic text. But such an anniversary – such thoughts.
And even if the war ends now, if all parties agree to a deal, the repressions against Russians in Russia will only intensify. The fewer external enemies, the more the dictatorship needs internal ones.
Who will help us? The West? The opposition? No, they have discredited themselves with indecision, indifference, and cynical calculation
We are left alone with that same maniac with a razor who will sooner or later reach our corner. Tell Kaja Kallas that we tried very hard to be good Russians.
We won't anymore.
*Elvira Vikhareva is a renowned Russian opposition politician based in Russia. In 2023, she was poisoned with heavy metal salts.
