Jailed Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny has called on Russians to protest against the “aggressive war” in Ukraine and called Putin an “obviously insane czar”.
The Insider publishes an excerpt from Navalny's appeal:
Navalny: «If, in order to stop the war, we have to fill the jails and the police cars with ourselves, we will fill the jails and the police cars with ourselves».
«We, Russia, want to be a nation of peace. Alas, few would call us such now. But let us at least not become a nation of frightened voiceless people, cowards who pretend not to notice the war of aggression unleashed by our obviously insane czar against Ukraine. I cannot, I do not want to and I will not keep silent seeing that the pseudo-historical nonsense about the events of 100 years ago became the reason for Russians to kill Ukrainians, and for the latter, to kill Russians while defending themselves <...>.
Putin is not Russia. And if there is one thing in Russia right now that we can be most proud of, it's those 6,835 people who were detained because, without any call or command, they took to the streets carrying posters with the words «no to war» on them.
They say you can't call for a rally if you don't go to one and risk being arrested. I'm already in jail, so I think I'm allowed to. You can't wait a day. Wherever you are. In Russia, in Belarus, or on the other side of the planet. Go to your city's main square every weekday at 7 p.m. and at 2 p.m. on weekends and holidays.
If you can do a parade, do it on weekends. Yes, few people may come out on the first day. And even fewer on the second day.
But, gritting our teeth and overcoming our fear, we must come out and demand an end to the war.
Every person arrested at a rally must be replaced by another two people. If, in order to stop the war, we have to fill the jails and the police cars with ourselves, we will fill the jails and the police cars with ourselves».
6,835 people had so far been arrested for anti-war demonstrations since Russia invaded Ukraine
Navalny was jailed last year when he returned to Russia from Germany after FSB tried to poison him with «novichok».
Despite the harshest of new laws and the risk of prison sentences for public protests (up to 20 years' imprisonment) - more than one million people have signed a petition demanding the end of the war in Ukraine. Professional communities have also published a series of open appeals against the invasion. They were signed by a total of more than 100,000 people.