Even some readers of Meduza justify the invasion of Ukraine. We asked them to explain why. Here's What Came Out Many of these letters are physically painful to read. Nevertheless, we consider them an important document
09:24, June 3, 2023
Source: Meduza
Aleksey Malgavko / Reuters / Scanpix / LETA
From the first days of the invasion, Meduza has been investigating—and refuting—arguments from Russian military propaganda in detail (here are just a couple of examples:
one ,
two ). And although to many of us her theses seem ridiculous and unconvincing, we must admit that propaganda works. Even among our readers, there are those who continue to find justifications for the invasion of Ukraine - despite how much grief this war has already brought to tens of millions of Ukrainians - and despite the fact that it is destructive for Russia itself. We
decidedlisten to these people - and asked them to explain why they are in favor of continuing the fighting. Over the course of a few days, we received hundreds of detailed responses, carefully studied them - and decided to publish some of the letters with minor editing. We not only consider these texts an important document, but we also hope that they will help to understand what to do next: how to stop the war, how to change the political regime in Russia - and how to deal with those who will most likely never be in anything. cannot be persuaded.
We warn you. These letters can make you extremely uncomfortable. In addition, there is a mat in this text.
Andrey
35 years old, Volgograd
The war ends when one side wins. The defeat of Russia will mean national humiliation, which cannot be allowed. Therefore, you need to win - there is no choice anymore.
Ukraine is not looking for peace . They only ask for more weapons and
shell Russian cities. Too much blood has been spilled to just say "thank you all, let's go."
Alexei
24 years old, Yakutsk
The question [of Meduza about the reasons for supporting the war] is actually raised incorrectly. I do not support the war, but I do not want Russia to lose either. In this case, it will be worse for everyone, and the world to which we are accustomed will now certainly collapse and even greater darkness will come. War is wrong, but losing is unacceptable.
Paul
30 years old, Germany
I don't support war, but I decided to write a comment because people who try to find excuses for war are equated with those who support it.
I am angry at both sides of the conflict. On Russia - because she started a stupid bloodthirsty war, which daily leads to senseless killings. I am angry with the countries that support Ukraine because they do not call for an immediate cessation of hostilities, that is, for an end to senseless killings. Instead, [these states] supply the country with weapons, knowing that this only increases the number of victims.
Sergey
38 years old, city not specified
I do not support war. But unfortunately, at the moment my Motherland (Russia) faces the question of existence. I do not want the collapse, the destruction of my country. I have questions for the instigators of the SVO . But first, the existential question must be resolved.
Anonymous Reader
38 years old, city not specified
The only thing worse than a war is a lost war. It was a crazy mistake to start it, but now we need to win it, otherwise we will face the grief of the vanquished . I don't support Putin, damn him.
Dmitriy
35 years old, Moscow
Initially and consistently opposed the war. However, over time, fatigue accumulated from what was happening, from constant fear for themselves and friends, [from] what they could call [to the front] if they opposed, from foreign media who wrote that the Russians needed to do something with the current government and war.
There is also an understanding that if there is no way to get out of the situation without losing face or losing globally, then life in the Russian Federation will become dramatically worse. There are a number of examples in world history that speak of this (Germany, for example).
However, war is always bad, and it brings nothing but blood, death and crippled destinies. The decision to start it was wrong, that's a fact, but now the situation has reached a stage where it is no longer worth losing.
Oleg
27 years old, city not specified
[I support the war] because I believe that the “peace plan” presented by [Vladimir] Zelensky and supported by the “collective West” is highly likely to cause such damage to Russia that it is not certain that it will survive it. And I am aware that [in this case] my well-being, my security and prospects will deteriorate much more than [if] the Russian army manages to inflict sufficient damage on the Armed Forces of Ukraine so that in the end the [prisoned] peace would be more compromise.
Anonymous Reader
36 years old, Tyumen
I do not support war in
the Z-understanding . Moreover, I went nuts on February 24 [2022]. But, as a resident of the Russian Federation, I believe that the introduction of troops into Ukraine is a mistake, and the withdrawal is a crime. I'm not going to pay
reparations for the mistakes of others for the next 20 years. No one talks to the losing side.
I will not take up arms. You can say that I am an observer who does not support Ukraine. I was there dozens of times before the Maidan, and I know how the mood and laws [in the country] changed. If a European state is being built there, then it will be similar to
Francoist Spain or
Salazar's Portugal , which is no different from Putin's Russian Federation.
WHAT IS REALLY HAPPENING IN UKRAINE
Victoria
28 years old, St. Petersburg
Initially, I had a negative attitude [to the war with Ukraine], as well as to any military action. But over time, having seen the amount of hatred for Russia and the Russians, the joy of
the explosion of the Crimean bridge, the active
supply of weapons to Ukraine from the West, I began to understand that Russophobia and other things that previously seemed to me stupid propaganda are not always lies. War is always sorrow, but sometimes unpopular decisions are the right ones.
IS THERE RUSSOPHOBIA
Nicholas
27 years old, Austria
I think the Western point of view is not entirely correct and I agree with Putin's terminology about
a unipolar world with
double standards . I believe that the West itself rocked the boat and made the Russian government responsible for what happened. In addition, constant financial support and pumping of weapons force the Ukrainian regime to continue the war and not negotiate.
Artem
40 years old, Berlin
First of all, I support not the war, but the Russian people and the interests of Russia. At first I was strongly opposed, but with the development of events I changed my point of view.
I have been living in Germany for 20 years and have never seen such propaganda. Western politicians and the media have taken an absolutely one-sided position: Russia is an aggressor, Ukraine is a heroic state, Putin is always wrong, everyone looks into Zelensky’s mouth. Those who hold a different position are pushed out of the information space and "cancelled".
The Western European states have shown themselves to be completely weak-willed and are acting on orders from the United States. Ukraine is controlled by the Americans directly. This conflict fully proves that there are no independent states in Western Europe, and there are practically none left in Eastern Europe.
IT'S TIME TO LISTEN TO OUR PODCAST "SIGNAL", WHICH UNDERSTANDS THE STAMPS OF RUSSIAN PROPAGANDA
Alexei
31 years old, Moscow
So what are the options guys? The war has already begun, there is no turning back. Due to circumstances, I am not ready to leave; I don’t want to feel like a guest worker, even if it’s an educated one (I’m a programmer). I love Russia, life in Moscow has always been the most comfortable for me. How can I now be against it, if everyone understands perfectly well what will happen if the current government loses?
There is no way back. Let them fight as long as there is mutual interest, and after the change of power (and this will certainly happen), we'll see what happens. And what happened there, for what reasons and whether it was worth it to happen - these are judgments that now have no meaning. If anything, I was against the war from the very beginning. But now I am against radical "liberals", Western hypocrisy and everything that continues to feed this war.
Sergey
27 years old, Perm
I support the actions of my president and my country. Yes, initially I did not quite understand the meaning of this entire “operation”, but after a while I saw Russophobic statements both from Ukraine, and from the European Union and the United States. Any person who has critical thinking and has at least the makings of reason understands that Russia is not a "terrorist state", we are only defending our interests and sovereignty. Therefore, I, like the majority of Russian citizens, fully support the NWO, and if it is necessary to go to war, then I will go.
MORE ABOUT THE NEWS ABOUT "RUSSIA-TERRORIST"
Ruslan
28 years old, Kazan
I do not support, but do not condemn Russia for the war. I believe that since Russia started the war, it showed the weakness of its diplomacy and inability to negotiate with a neighboring state. However, I also do not support the point of view of those who compare Russia almost with Nazi Germany.
Firstly, Ukraine had a choice, it could agree with us in the first days of the war, before everything went too far, and fulfill our demands. It would have lost territories, but it would have retained itself as a state. Is land more important than human lives? Therefore, Ukraine also bears part of the blame for the lives of those people who died. I am sure that people living in the territories that would have crossed over to Russia would definitely not begin to live worse. Perhaps somewhere even better.
David
34 years old, Saratov
The Minsk agreements were a formality, Russia could not unilaterally implement them. The West cynically later admitted that it was simply preparing Ukraine for war
(is this true - in our podcast ).
Nobody prevented Ukraine from reaching an agreement with the [self-proclaimed and then annexed] LPR and DPR, giving them autonomy. Instead, Ukraine bombarded its own cities.
The war in Ukraine can be seen as a solution to the national question, which was postponed after the collapse of the USSR. [Also] no one prevented Ukraine from developing Crimea [before its annexation]. [They] remembered that Crimea was Ukrainian only when they lost it. The overwhelming majority of the population of Crimea voted honestly for joining Russia.
Ukraine did not want to negotiate with Russia. Zelensky took the wrong position, believing the promises of the West. As a result, the cities of Ukraine are destroyed, the economy is falling apart, millions of people have left the country.
Murad
28 years old, Moscow
Despite the fact that our government is corrupt and inefficient, Ukraine is a danger to our southern borders. If there is no Black Sea Fleet in the Crimea, we will lose influence on the Black Sea and the Caucasus. From 2014 to 2022, all Ukrainian governments actively declared that they would return Crimea and the eastern territories by force or diplomacy. These are direct threats.
[For comparison:] any country in Europe or the United States will calmly use force if it senses danger at its borders. I consider their current rhetoric to be a policy of double standards.
WHAT A DOUBLE STANDARD. PODCAST
Dmitriy
24 years old, Moscow
I do not support the idea of starting a war, but I do not support the idea of ending it now either. My feeling is that no one in the world is trying to offer Russians any healthy alternative to what Putin is offering. The authorities do not touch the Russians who are studying or doing something related to defense, so it is possible to survive the war with this government.
But from abroad, ideas are heard only about the gloomy future [of Russia] or simply about our dehumanization. So I'd rather be with my compatriots than hope for the goodwill of some [adviser to the head of the office of the President of Ukraine Mikhail]
Podolyak or an American official who earns money on the war.
Anonymous Reader
30 years old, Astana
In a little over a year, [my] authorities and moral guidelines have turned into traitors (who wish harm to the citizens of their country, call for sanctions and do not try to remove them), disgraceful (offer to surrender to mercy and blame themselves), infirmities and liars.
Even now I think that Russia got involved in this war in vain, very vainly. But the way out offered by those [politicians] whom I [formerly] hoped for is shameful, painful, humiliating and deceitful. It is better to wait for those who will replace Putin: Russia is full of smart people.
Repent for three [next] lives, give up nuclear weapons and pay reparations - thank you, no need. I hope that the war will end as soon as possible and as few people as possible will die in it - both citizens of Russia in the first place, and citizens of Ukraine.
1/4 tarkastetuista kehnossa kunnossa/suljettu.
