The wife of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has called on thousands of supporters to march through central Berlin to continue protesting against President Vladimir Putin and the war in Ukraine.
“A protest will not change everything,” Yulia Navalnaya said. We need to continue to act.”
People carried the blue and white flag of the Russian opposition as well as the Ukrainian flag, and chanted “no war” and “Putin is a murderer” in Russian.
Many members of Russia’s opposition have been exiled since the Kremlin stepped up its crackdown on dissent, jailing hundreds – perhaps thousands – of people for their political views.
The opposition said it had three main demands – “immediate withdrawal” from Ukraine, trial of Putin as a “war criminal” and release of all political prisoners in Russia.
Russia’s war in Ukraine was the main focus of the protest, which ended at the Russian embassy in Berlin.
Navalnaya echoed the words of her late husband, who called on his supporters to “protest like going to work”.
Navalny died in February in a Russian prison. His followers say Putin is behind his death but the Kremlin denies this.
“We need to continue working to end the war for those who cannot get out in prison and in Russia, as well as for those who died there,” his widow said.
Ukrainians often accuse the Russian opposition of not appreciating their suffering and not doing enough to stop the war waged by their country.
Oleg Orlov, co-chairman of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning organization Memorial, who was sentenced to prison in Russia for anti-war and anti-government statements, held a banner that read: “Victory for Ukraine, Defeat for Putin, Freedom”. for Russia.”
Orlov is currently living in exile in Germany after being released in a prisoner exchange in August. He called on Ukraine’s allies to continue providing weapons.
“Putin’s victory in Ukraine will preserve his fascist regime in Russia for many years,” he told the BBC.
“More weapons for Ukraine are important, including for the future of Russia – because if Putin wins then Russia will be defeated – that is the Russia that we all here dream of and that we want build.
“Those in Europe who talk about peace at all costs in Ukraine, who are ready to appease the aggressor, do not understand the trap they are setting for the future of Europe itself.”
Speaking outside the Russian embassy, Vladimir Kara-Murza, who was also released in August after more than two years – including 11 months in solitary confinement – jailed in Russia, called the embassy ” Russian spy ring”.
“It will be an embassy again,” he added.
A young IT worker, Anastasia – originally from Kazan in Russia – said she left in March 2022 because she could not stay in a country waging a war she opposed.
She said that “it is impossible to protest in a totalitarian country,” adding that this is why the protest is so important.
