Last Days in Russia, by Arnov Paul-Choudhury
20-year-old Arnov Paul-Choudhury, a politics and international relations student at the University of Birmingham, chose to spend his third year abroad in St. Petersburg. He witnessed the protests and panic that occurred when Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine last month, and struggled to find a flight to return to the UK. These are his impressions of his last days in Russia.
Commiseration and fear best sum up sentiment across St. Petersburg and large parts of Russia on February 24. The invasion of Ukraine was all over the news, from broadsheet front pages to the depths of social media. Being at the centre of the perpetrator and witnessing the sheer panic of Russians made the actions of the few in power even more inconceivable. The freezing temperatures and the grey sky typified the glum and cold mood that descended upon the city and nation. Lectures continued, and whilst my Russian professors continued teaching, the overwhelming feeling of doom and sadness was unavoidable.
Arnov Paul-Choudhury in St. Petersburg last year
A lecturer described the invasion and shelling of eastern Ukraine and subsequently Kyiv as the worst day of his life and said, “we can’t believe politicians, diplomats or Russian journalists, as they’ve been lying to us for many months and years”. The mistrust in authorities resulted in a widespread sense of helplessness. The instant claim of ongoing training on the border ended up as a falsification for the truth of Putin readying up troops for a war.
As the news spread across the world throughout the day, Russian students emphasised their contempt for the war. Protests were organised at lightning speed, and by 8 pm Gostiny Dvor and Nevsky Prospekt were engulfed by the crowds who were against the war. OMON riot police and Russian Guard troops were brought in and given “storm trooper” protection against protesters (largely students, and peaceful) who were the antithesis of everything the forces represented.
Swathes of people chanting “Nyet voynye!” (“No to war!”) deafened the ears of those passing by. Although over 400 people were arrested outside of Gostiny Dvor metro station, the message rang clear. An area synonymous with tourists, bustling with restaurants, souvenirs and vitality had been consumed by brave citizens who resented the actions of their government.
Over the next few days, the surreal situation kept on escalating. Amidst the backdrop of flights being cancelled, international embassies as well as university staff advised leaving the country. Images of battered buildings and the brutal shelling of Kyiv continued to circulate across Western media with seemingly no mercy.
The sheer heartache and grievances expressed by the Russian people could be summed up by those on the streets who were firmly against the conflict. A middle-aged taxi driver, Alyosha, said, “You don’t go to war against your brothers” - emphasising how the loss of life and destruction of buildings would only make the lives of people in Russia and Ukraine worse.
Polyustrovsky Rynok, a market in the north of the city, usually bustling with vendors and buyers, was starved of the latter due to the value of the rouble being depleted to two-thirds of its value a week before the invasion. A “babushka” exclaimed how she had to increase her prices due to the fall of the rouble and how the sellers were all starting to suffer. An already depleted economy being pushed further into inflation due to despotic leadership.
Gatherings and demonstrations continued, and Nevsky Prospekt became a depiction of Orwell’s 1984 in real life. Police, OMON and Russian Guard troops stood firm in their masses at all times of day. As my university and other universities across Europe, Asia and the United States recalled their students, the dorms emptied. Russian newspapers and TV stations perpetuated how the “denazifying” mission was going well and that the people of Ukraine would be liberated back into a de facto Russian empire, whilst social media was slowed down and sanctions were increased.
Six days of daily protests led to about 2,000 people being arrested in St Petersburg alone. In the run-up to one an 18-year-old student said, “We don’t know what to do, we are very scared. Police don’t care. This isn’t our war, this is the war of our president.” This echoed the thousands of people who courageously gathered at Gostiny Dvor and Pushkin Square in Moscow.
Hundreds of people were gathered in the nerve-racking atmosphere at Gostiny Dvor. The OMON and Russian Guard, covered in riot gear, created a scene resembling armed conflict. Placards against the war and Ukrainian flags stood out amid the black uniforms and helmets. A man kneeled after laying out signs against war, and OMON police cautioned through loudspeakers that attending the protest was illegal. Most stayed, and hundreds were arrested indiscriminately. Men and women were forced into ominous Soviet-style trucks to await either a night in jail or a fine, at a time when the rouble was descending to levels never seen before.
As my university and the British government recalled all students back home, sanctions increased, and the announcement of Swift being cancelled in Russia played a massive part in the uproar. Departure flights to continental Europe being cancelled led many students to take a coach to either Helsinki or Tallinn - where delays of up to eight hours on the borders of Finland and Estonia were common.
As sanctions between Turkey and Russia were not as severe at the time, the only flight I could board back home was from St. Petersburg via Istanbul to London Stanstead. Thankfully I took the opportunity to do so, but ultimately prayers go out to the civilians who are not so fortunate in both Ukraine and Russia.
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ICJ orders Russia to end Ukraine war
The UN’s International Court of Justice in The Hague has ordered Russia to end its war on Ukraine, ruling that it had seen no evidence of Russia’s claims that Ukraine was committing genocide. The court voted 13-2 for Russia to suspend its war, with only the Russian and Chinese judges voting against. This week Russia continued its unrelenting attacks on civilians in Ukraine, including bombing the Mariupol drama theatre, where the word “Children” was written on the ground in large letters in an attempt to warn the Russians that children were sheltering in the building. Instead, they may have seen this as a reason to target it. Russia also bombed the Neptune swimming pool complex in Mariupol, where pregnant women and women with babies and toddlers had been sheltering. Journalists have also been killed this week, including US freelancer Brent Renaud, Fox News cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski, who was Irish, and his Ukrainian fixer Oleksandra Kuvshynova, just 24. Russia has blocked Instagram, sending a message to users that it has been an accessory to the claimed “genocide” by allowing calls for the deaths of Russian troops in Ukraine.
US to provide more military supplies to Ukraine after Zelensky address
Joe Biden has called Putin a war criminal following a powerful address by Volodymyr Zelensky to the US Congress in which he said Ukraine was enduring the equivalent of a Pearl Harbor attack or 9/11 every day. Referencing Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous speech, he also said, “I have a dream, these words are known to each of you - today I can say I have a need. I need to protect the sky.” NATO has resisted Ukraine’s desperate calls to implement a no-fly zone, but Biden ordered an additional $800 million in military aid for Ukraine, including 800 anti-aircraft systems, 9,000 anti-armour systems, 7,000 small arms, drones and other equipment.
“This could be a long and difficult battle. But the American people will be steadfast in our support of the people of Ukraine in the face of Putin’s immoral, unethical attacks on civilian populations,” Biden said. “We are united in our abhorrence of Putin’s depraved onslaught. And we’re going to continue to have their backs as they fight for their freedom, their democracy, their very survival.”
Russia has announced sanctions on Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton and several other prominent Americans in response to US actions. “I would like to thank the Russian Academy for this Lifetime Achievement Award,” Clinton joked on Twitter.
Navalny has last word at trial before verdict
The trial of Alexei Navalny in the prison in Pokrov, Vladimir Oblast, where he is being held almost reached its conclusion this week, with the opposition leader making his final statements before the verdict. Prosecutors asked for him to be sentenced to a total of 13 years in a high security prison on charges of embezzling funds donated to his organisations and insulting a judge in his previous trial.
On the charge of insulting judge Vera Akimova, Navalny agreed that he had said she was unprofessional, a rude woman and a toad, but added that some of his comments were made in conversation with his lawyers and not said directly to her. He also disagreed that insulting the judge was a crime. On the embezzlement charge, Navalny said he only received funds from his organisations to pay for travel and hotel rooms on trips inside Russia, and paid for everything else himself. If not for government corruption, however, Russians could earn at least as much as the average salary in Eastern European countries, Navalny said.
Judge Margarita Kotova asked Navalny how he got his information for the Putin’s Palace video. Navalny replied that the territory of the palace and its grounds is bigger than the whole of the nearby town of Gelendzhik, so it couldn’t be hidden. Reminding the judge that one of the planned prosecution witnesses, Fedor Gorozhanko, had refused to testify against him, Navalny asked her if she had ever thought of saying “Screw it!” and not complying with the Kremlin’s demands. At the same time Navalny’s team released a video detailing the frequent calls the judge had made to the presidential administration during the trial.
“Why do you think that this lawlessness will last forever?” Navalny asked. “They say it’s dangerous to be in opposition. Yes, I'm in prison. But statistics show it’s more dangerous to be a United Russia city mayor. Or a judge, or a prison service employee.” Commenting on the prosecution’s suggested sentence, Navalny said, “They usually give more modest sentences for murderers than what they’ve requested for me!” He joked, “If they paid me a rouble every time I had a final speech in court, even with this exchange rate I would be very rich.” The trial drew to a close with Navalny saying, “It’s much better to be a free man of God than Putin’s lackey, whom devils will eat in hell.” He also quoted Tolstoy, saying, “War is a product of despotism. Those who want to fight war must only fight despotism.” The verdict is due to be announced on March 22 at 10 am Moscow time.
Defence puts forward preposterous theories at MH17 trial
The defence team for Oleg Pulatov at the MH17 trial in the Netherlands has resorted to demanding analysis of every possible type of missile that might have shot down the passenger plane, reiterating Russian talking points. They also bizarrely showed an animation recreating Ukraine’s accidental shooting down of Siberia Airlines Flight 1812 in October 2001, to suggest that this type of incident could have been repeated, despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
Defence lawyer Boudewijn van Eyck spoke at length with slides listing 19 types of missile that could have been used to bring down MH17 (including spelling errors, such as “Glowler” for “Growler”). Van Eyck said there had been a “one-sided focus on Buks” in the investigation that could have “led to cross-contamination”. He attempted to overwhelm the panel of judges with quasi-scientific claims about fragmentation patterns that he said might not necessarily have been caused by a Buk, and frequently quoted arguments and data put forward by Russian Buk manufacturer Almaz-Antey.
A subsequent day of the trial was cancelled due to a personal issue with one of the participants, and in the hearing after that the defence team appeared via video link, suggesting a possible Covid infection. That session was abandoned due to technical problems. The trial of the four absentee defendants is due to resume today. Meanwhile, Australia and the Netherlands have launched legal proceedings against Russia through the International Civil Aviation Organization over the downing of MH17, which killed 298 people.
State TV employee pickets against war live
Marina Ovsyannikova, an editor at Russia’s state Channel One TV station, interrupted a live news programme on Monday evening holding a sign in English and Russian saying “Stop the war. Don’t believe the propaganda. They are lying to you here. Russians against war.” She had previously recorded a video in which, wearing a necklace in the colours of the Russian and Ukrainian flags, she denounced the war but also called the two countries brotherly – language used by Putin that Ukrainians detest.
Ovsyannikova was detained and fined 30,000 roubles ($280) for holding an unauthorised protest. She was hailed as a hero by Western media outlets and praised by Volodymyr Zelensky, but many Ukrainians were dismissive of the protest, saying they thought it was staged to evoke sympathy for ordinary Russians and lobby for the lifting of sanctions. They also said it could not wipe out Ovsyannikova’s years of working for a propaganda channel. The light punishment was seen as evidence that the protest was fake, but authorities are still reportedly considering whether to bring a criminal charge of spreading “fake news” that discredits Russian troops against the Channel One employee. There have been reports that other state TV employees have resigned in the wake of Ovsyannikova’s picket. Novaya Gazeta first tweeted a screenshot of the picket with the entire sign blurred out, and then put it on the front page but with the word “war” blurred out to comply with new Russian laws.
Anti-war protesters jailed and threatened
Pussy Riot’s Maria Alekhina has been given a second 15-day jail sentence immediately after being released from a previous 15-day sentence. She is one of hundreds of people across Russia who have been jailed or fined for their anti-war protests, which have included damaging vehicles with the “Z” and “V” invasion signs on them. The Kremlin has responded with flashmobs in support of the invasion, pushing schools and universities to make videos and take photographs with the symbols that Ukraine and the West now consider fascist. Young schoolchildren have been posed holding painted “Z” symbols. The symbols have also been daubed on the doors of flats belonging to well-known opposition activists, along with messages such as “Don’t betray your country, bitch” – written on the door of the home of young activist Olga Misik, who became famous when she read the Russian constitution to riot police during a protest.
In a sinister and disturbing recent speech, Putin raged against “national traitors” and said the country would “spit them out like flies”. The rhetoric against “fifth columnists” has escalated sharply, and former Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich – now head of the world chess federation, FIDE – has been called a traitor for speaking out against the war. The ultranationalist LDPR has suggested that Russia could bring back the death penalty now that it has left the Council of Europe. Oligarch Oleg Deripaska has put forward some proposals on Telegram such as ending the war and ending “state capitalism”, giving people their freedom and developing Siberia and the Far East that suggest that he might be trying to position himself as a potential successor to Putin if anything happens to the war’s architect.