to my russian friends

My dear Russian friends: some of you from years ago, some more recently, some I don't know personally, friends of spirit and mind.

Times are difficult for you also at this time.

I have communicated with many of you over the last month.

Like the lives of all Ukrainians, yours, never easy, are being completely turned upside down.

Many of you are fleeing Russia.

And many of you have expressed to me feelings of guilt, of shame, for what your country is doing to your neighbor.

For what they are doing to the Ukraine in your name.

Some of you activists have been grounded for a long time, and you have been preparing for the final blow.

On March 4 I wrote to Aleksandr Cherkasov, an old friend of the Memorial [association].

"I'll tell you later," Sasha replied in her usual laconic tone.

"Right now, after the search, we wander through ruins (Computers gutted. Safes busted)".

Others of you, cultural personalities, artists, critics, writers, are stunned by the sudden collapse of your fragile world.

None of you like Putin and his regime of thieves and fascists, most of you hate them.

But let's be honest: except for very few of you (those of you who work with Memorial,

,

,

, Navalni's organization and a few others), how many of you have done something to resist that regime?

Apart from joining the demonstrations, when were there?

Could it be, then, that your feelings of shame and guilt are not just something abstract?

Could it also be due to your own apathy, your long-standing indifference to what was happening around you and your passive complicity, which you surely now feel in your bones and in your soul?

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It wasn't always like this.

For a while, in the 1990s, you had some murky, even bloody, but real freedom and democracy.

Still, 1991 ended like 1917. Why is it that every time you finally have your revolution, do you end up so afraid of the "time of trouble" that you go back under the coattails of a tsar, be it Stalin or Putin?

No matter how many I kill, it seems safer to you, in a way.

For what is this?

It is true that mistakes were made.

Instead of breaking into the KGB archives and exposing them to the light of day, as the Germans did with the Stasi, you allowed yourselves to be distracted by the statue of Dzherzinski, and allowed the KGB to slip under the radar, regroup, rebuild, and become with control of your country.

When you were given the choice between looting the country or the return of the communists,

you did not fight to impose a third way and you consented to looting.

In 1998, your economy collapsed, and that practically meant the end of the big demonstrations for greater social justice or against the war in Chechnya.

Survival became the primary concern.

And then they brought in Putin.

Young, bold, aggressive, promising the destruction of terrorists and a turnaround of the economy.

Few of you believed it, but either you voted for him or you didn't go to vote.

And when he started rampaging through Chechnya for the second time, most of you closed your eyes and turned around.

I remember those years very well.

He was working in Chechnya, helping the countless victims of Putin's “counter-terrorist operation”, touring the ruins of Grozny and Katyr-Yurt and Itum-Kale and many other cities.

Sometimes he would go back to Moscow to rest and party with you, my friends.

We drank, we danced, and then I tried to tell you about the horrors I saw there, the civilians tortured, the children killed, the soldiers selling the bodies of the dead to their families.

And you told me:

"Jonathan, we are fed up with your Chechnya."

I remember those words very well.

And he made me mad at you: “Hey, it's not my Chechnya, it's your Chechnya.

It's your fucking country, not mine.

I'm just a stupid foreigner here.

It is your government that is bombing one of your cities, killing your fellow citizens."

But no, it was too complicated, too painful, you didn't want to know.

Then came the great economic boom of the mid-2000s, fueled by rising oil prices and Putin's willingness to allow some of the stolen money to cascade down onto the middle class.

Many of you made money, some a lot, and even the poorest of you got new flats and better jobs.

Prices went up, but it didn't matter, Moscow was radiant, sparkling, elegant, fun.

When the opponents (Yuri Shchekochikhin, Anna Politkóvskaya, Aleksandr Litvinenko and others) were assassinated, you expressed horror and shock, but it did not go too far.

When Putin, after two terms, handed over the presidency to his prime minister and took his place, you hardly noticed, as far as I could see.

When Russia

Within a few months of Medvedev's presidency, he invaded Georgia, most of you either ignored him or kept quiet.

And in the years that followed, how many of you did I meet on the ski slopes of Gudauri, hiking in Kazbegi, or enjoying the cafes and steam baths of Tbilisi while your Army occupied part of the country?

Neither did we, here in the West, do much, if anything.

A few complaints, a few sanctions;

but what did egregious violations of international law matter compared to the lure of Russia's oil, gas, and domestic market?

hiking around Kazbegi or enjoying the cafes and steam baths of Tbilisi while your Army occupied part of the country?

Neither did we, here in the West, do much, if anything.

A few complaints, a few sanctions;

but what did egregious violations of international law matter compared to the lure of Russia's oil, gas, and domestic market?

hiking around Kazbegi or enjoying the cafes and steam baths of Tbilisi while your Army occupied part of the country?

Neither did we, here in the West, do much, if anything.

A few complaints, a few sanctions;

but what did egregious violations of international law matter compared to the lure of Russia's oil, gas, and domestic market?

Ukrainian refugees wait for transport after reaching the Medika border crossing in Poland.

Sergei Gritz (AP)

However, at the end of 2011, you, my Russian friends, woke up.

When Putin switched seats with Medvedev again, putting himself back in the presidential chair, many of you decided that this dirty trick had gone too far, and you came out en masse to protest.

Navalni became a household name and for six months you filled the squares, scaring the regime and causing it to falter.

So the regime struck back.

First he organized counter-demonstrations, then he passed more repressive laws and began to fill his jails.

They arrested thousands of people.

Some were sentenced to very long sentences.

And the rest of you gave up and went home.

"What could we have done?"

I've heard this many times, and I'm still hearing it now.

"The State is very strong, and we are very weak."

Okay,

look at the Ukrainians.

Look what they did, two years after you.

Once they occupied Maidan, in their rage at a pro-Russian president who had betrayed his promise of more Europe, they never left.

They set up a city of tents, completely self-organized and ready to defend themselves.

When the police went to try to break it up, they defended themselves with sticks, iron bars and Molotov cocktails.

In the end, the police opened fire.

But instead of fleeing, the Maidans charged.

Many of them died, but they won.

It was Yanukovych who ran away, and the Ukrainians got back their democracy, their right to elect their leaders and kick them out when they don't do their job well.

in their rage at a pro-Russian president who had betrayed his promise of more Europe, they never abandoned her.

They set up a city of tents, completely self-organized and ready to defend themselves.

When the police went to try to break it up, they defended themselves with sticks, iron bars and Molotov cocktails.

In the end, the police opened fire.

But instead of fleeing, the Maidans charged.

Many of them died, but they won.

It was Yanukovych who ran away, and the Ukrainians got back their democracy, their right to elect their leaders and kick them out when they don't do their job well.

in their rage at a pro-Russian president who had betrayed his promise of more Europe, they never abandoned her.

They set up a city of tents, completely self-organized and ready to defend themselves.

When the police went to try to break it up, they defended themselves with sticks, iron bars and Molotov cocktails.

In the end, the police opened fire.

But instead of fleeing, the Maidans charged.

Many of them died, but they won.

It was Yanukovych who ran away, and the Ukrainians got back their democracy, their right to elect their leaders and kick them out when they don't do their job well.

the police opened fire.

But instead of fleeing, the Maidans charged.

Many of them died, but they won.

It was Yanukovych who ran away, and the Ukrainians got back their democracy, their right to elect their leaders and kick them out when they don't do their job well.

the police opened fire.

But instead of fleeing, the Maidans charged.

Many of them died, but they won.

It was Yanukovych who ran away, and the Ukrainians got back their democracy, their right to elect their leaders and kick them out when they don't do their job well.

Putin did not like the Maidan thing at all.

It was a bad example.

So he took over Crimea while the whole world was still bewildered.

Very few of you also protested about it, but in vain.

Many were excited.

91% of Russians approved of annexation, I think.

“Wonderful, wonderful!

Crimea is ours!” chanted your fellow citizens, suddenly drunk with imperial glory.

I am not just referring to the poorest people in the devastated corners of the country, where the limits of politics are marked by vodka and potatoes, but to some of you, my friends, personal friends.

writers.

Publishers.

Intellectuals.

The same thing happened with Donbas.

Novorossia, the New Russia.

Suddenly a new myth was erected, and some of you, who had despised Putin and his clique,

you suddenly changed your mind and adored him.

I don't know why as we quickly stopped talking after that.

As for the rest of you, those of you who were still my friends, you were mostly silent.

"I'm not interested in politics," you said.

And you went back to literature, or to the cinema, or to the Ikea catalogues, or to enjoying the brand new parks with which the mayor of Moscow had planted the city since 2012, with its comfortable poufs and its free Wi-Fi and its cafes

.

Yes, Donbas was far away, and Moscow was cool, more and more.

Of Syria you barely even noticed.

In any case, they were all terrorists, right?

Daesh or whatever.

Even the Moscow publisher who published my book on Syria later criticized it in an interview, saying that I did not understand anything that was happening in Syria.

Well, at least I had been there, watching children the same age as mine being murdered in cold blood by regime snipers in the streets of Homs.

The only Russians who went there were your Army, which in 2015 began bombing thousands of civilians and practicing for their next serious war.

Surely many of you know the famous words of Pastor Martin Niemöller: “First they came for the socialists, and I didn't say anything, because I wasn't a socialist.

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't say anything, because I wasn't a trade unionist.

And then they came for the Jews, and I didn't say anything, because I wasn't a Jew.

Then they came for me, and there was no one left who could speak for me.”

How many of you have spoken in favor of the Chechens, the Syrians or the Ukrainians?

Some of you did.

But too many of you were silent.

Some, it is true, speak now, people like Dmitri Glukhovsk, Mikhail Shishkin, Mikhail Zygar, Maksim Osipov, others too.

Most of them speak from outside the country, a few from within, like Marina Ovsyannikova, risking being sent to join Navalni in her gulag.

As for the rest, you understand what country you live in better than most.

And so I am sure you understand this: when Putin finishes off the Ukrainians (but even more so if he is not able, as seems likely, to finish them off) he will come to him for you.

For all of you, my friends: for those of you who have bravely come out to protest, but in most cases individually, and who have so far only received light sentences,

but soon they will be much harder.

Here's to the thousands of people who have signed petitions, expressed disapproval on social media (perhaps just with a black square on Instagram), or spoken privately with co-workers.

The days when one would receive 10 years in prison for a prank, or even 25, are not so far in the past, and they are now in your future too, most likely.

And who will then speak for you?

Who will be left?

The days when one would receive 10 years in prison for a prank, or even 25, are not so far in the past, and they are now in your future too, most likely.

And who will then speak for you?

Who will be left?

The days when one would receive 10 years in prison for a prank, or even 25, are not so far in the past, and they are now in your future too, most likely.

And who will then speak for you?

Who will be left?

Firefighters extinguish the fire after a Russian attack Kharkov.Pavel Dorogoy (AP)

The Ukrainians, now even more than in 2014, are setting a frightening example for the Putin regime: they are proving that it can be fought, and that if you are smart, and motivated, and brave, you can even stop it, regardless of its overwhelming superiority on paper.

Of course, apparently hardly anyone in Russia is aware of this, or even that there is a war.

But you, my friends, know what is happening.

You read foreign news on the Internet, you all have friends or even relatives in Ukraine whom you send messages to.

And Putin knows that you know it.

So be careful.

You know where this is going.

The days of the good life in exchange for your silence are over.

Your elections are a farce;

your laws, except for the repressive ones, are not worth the paper they are written on;

your last free means of communication have disappeared;

your economy is sinking faster than I can write;

you no longer even have credit cards to buy a one-way plane ticket, if there are any flights left.

Now Putin is not going to settle for your silence;

he will want your acquiescence, your complicity.

And if you don't give him what he wants, you can try to leave, somehow, or be crushed.

I doubt you see any other option.

somehow, or be crushed.

I doubt you see any other option.

somehow, or be crushed.

I doubt you see any other option.

But there is one.

Which is to overthrow this regime once and for all.

It would probably take less than you think, in the current situation.

Think about it.

The spark will not come from you: with the economic collapse that is about to hit Russia, it will most likely come from the provinces, from the less important cities;

there, when prices skyrocket and salaries stop being paid, all those who voted for Putin all these years, because they wanted bread and peace, will take to the streets.

Putin knows this, and he is much more afraid of them than of the intellectuals and the middle class of Moscow and St. Petersburg, which are you, dear friends.

But if each city speaks out on its own, as has occasionally happened, Putin will have no trouble moving in and repressing them.

He will have to coordinate and organize things.

The peat will have to be converted into mass.

You have this magnificent and magical tool called the Internet, which can be hindered by the regime, but which can be made to work regardless of almost any circumstance.

Navalni's organization has been dismantled, but others, more informal, more decentralized, can be formed.

You are very numerous, you are millions.

The Moscow police can handle 30,000 people on the street, even 100,000.

With more than 300,000, they would be overwhelmed.

They would have to call in the Army, but when push came to shove, would this Army fight for Putin?

After what he has made them do in the Ukraine, after what he has done to them?

but one that can be made to work regardless of almost any circumstance.

Navalni's organization has been dismantled, but others, more informal, more decentralized, can be formed.

You are very numerous, you are millions.

The Moscow police can handle 30,000 people on the street, even 100,000.

With more than 300,000, they would be overwhelmed.

They would have to call in the Army, but when push came to shove, would this Army fight for Putin?

After what he has made them do in the Ukraine, after what he has done to them?

but one that can be made to work regardless of almost any circumstance.

Navalni's organization has been dismantled, but others, more informal, more decentralized, can be formed.

You are very numerous, you are millions.

The Moscow police can handle 30,000 people on the street, even 100,000.

With more than 300,000, they would be overwhelmed.

They would have to call in the Army, but when push came to shove, would this Army fight for Putin?

After what he has made them do in the Ukraine, after what he has done to them?

but when push came to shove, would this Army fight for Putin?

After what he has made them do in the Ukraine, after what he has done to them?

but when push came to shove, would this Army fight for Putin?

After what he has made them do in the Ukraine, after what he has done to them?

There will be a terrible danger, of course.

Some of you will be afraid, and those of you who have children will be terrified that something might happen to them.

This is natural, it is normal.

I too, in your place, would be afraid.

In Syria, and now in the Ukraine, Putin tried to show you, by example, what happens to a people who dare to defy their

, to his master and lord, who dares not only to ask for freedom, but to try to take it.

But, if you do nothing, many of you will be lost anyway.

And you know it.

One of your children will make a joke in a video game chat and will be arrested;

one of your daughters will express her outrage on the Internet and will be arrested;

a dear friend of yours will make a mistake and die in a dank cell beaten to death by the police.

This is what has been happening for years, and it is what will continue to happen, on an ever-increasing scale.

So you have no choice.

If you do nothing, you know how it will end.

Now is the time for your own Maidan.

Be smart, be strategic and find a way to make it happen.

Jonathan Littell is a writer.

Translation of News Clips.

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