This text is based on my Finnish-language blog “The
wish of an ‘ordinary Russian’: The media in the West should also talk about the
war in Ukraine from Russia’s point of view” (Fin. ”Tavallisen
venäläisen” toive: Median pitäisi lännessä kertoa Ukrainan sodasta myös Venäjän
näkökulma), which I published on April 30, 2023. For the information of the
reader, I have expanded the article with regards to the observations about
Finland. The reader must note that the Russians living in Finland used as
examples have lived in our country for years or even decades, so their actions
supporting Russia and sacrificing Russia cannot be explained by the fact that
they have only lived in Finland for a short time. In fact, some of them have
previously been highlighted in the media as Russians well integrated into
Finland.
The reader must note that the Russians I used
as examples in text, have lived in Finland for years or even decades, so their
actions supporting Russia and sacrificing Russia cannot be explained by the
fact that they have only lived in Finland for a short time. In fact, some of
them have previously been highlighted in the media as Russians well integrated
into Finland.
The wish of an ‘ordinary Russian’: The media in
the West should also talk about the war in Ukraine from Russia’s point of view.
From the moment when Russia expanded its war in
Ukraine in February 2022, we in Finland have been repeatedly reminded that this
is Vladimir Putin’s war, the Russian regime’s war against Ukraine. As Russians
flee under the threat of mobilization to their neighbouring countries and
through them even further to safety from the mobilization carried out by the
state apparatus, it was repeatedly claimed to us in the Finnish media that
opponents of Vladimir Putin and opponents of the war are fleeing Russia because
of the fear of being sent to the front. At most, the argument was true that
these people – mainly younger men – were running away from being sent to the
front. What went unnoticed was that these “deserters” were not
necessarily opponents of Vladimir Putin’s regime or even the war.
In reality, most of those who escaped from
Russia were not ready to sacrifice their own lives for the sake of a failed “special
operation”. I suspect, however, that an unusually large number of this
large group would have gladly enjoyed the benefits provided by the Russian
administration – perhaps even enriched themselves to some extent. They were
perhaps drunk on the national euphoria created by the occupation of the Crimean
Peninsula and felt proud that Russia was no longer humiliated!
They ignored the fact that thousands of
Russians had already died in the war that Russia had been waging in eastern
Ukraine since the spring of 2014. They also didn’t care that their country had
drifted into totalitarianism – it was enough for them that money came in, they
could go abroad and find foreign luxury products in Moscow or St. Petersburg.
What about the fact that the majority of Russians could only dream of such
things, that millions of Russians did not even have an indoor toilet and
running water. So, were they just innocent bystander victims that a brutal
regime tried to send to the slaughter like sheep, or were they cogs in the
machinery that allowed Putin’s regime to continue and evolve in an even more
totalitarian direction? Let’s not forget the German theologian Martin Niemöller’s
poem “First they came ...” (German: Zuerst Kamen sie ...) when we
think about questions of responsibility.
What if we here in the West were a little naive
when we let them out of Russia, at the same time we painted a picture of them
that even the blind saw was a false lie?
In my writing, I do not directly answer the
questions I posed above, but I believe that my text shows what I think about
the innocence or guilt of the Russians (citizens), as well as what I think
about the reactions and actions of our decision-makers here in the West.
Naturally, a nation of more than 140 million
inhabitants can accommodate many different opinions, there are people who
oppose the war – for one reason or another, as there are also those who support
the war. From the point of view of this writing, it is not significant what the
reason is for opposing the war, for example. In my opinion, based on whether a
person supports or opposes the war in Russia, it cannot be directly concluded
whether he supports Vladimir Putin’s regime or not; nor how he sees the future
of Russia – as a totalitarian state or something else.
In Russia, there are plenty of different groups
that support imperialism and resort to violence, which view the Russian regime
with disdain – even negatively. On the other hand, Vladimir Putin’s
administration has tolerated numerous extremist groups, such as the Russian
Imperial Movement, because the administration has been able to use them to
promote its own policies in Russia and outside the country’s borders. These
groups have also been tolerated in Russia, as long as their activities do not
threaten Putin’s regime. It is a kind of social contract, but nothing
guarantees that the Russian administration will follow such (silent) social
contracts. With the extensive war of aggression against Ukraine, the Kremlin
broke one such so-called agreement with the Russian middle class.
In the West, we also have a somewhat idealistic
image of some Russian opposition politicians, due in part to the fact that
these politicians and their support groups, such as Alexei Navalny and
his supporters, have fallen into the teeth of the regime. The lives of these politicians
have been threatened – they have even been trying to assassinate, and their
supporters have been persecuted. So, it’s no wonder that we see these
politicians and their supporters standing in the same crowd as us. At this
point, we are perhaps a little too naive in imagining that there can be no
contradictions between us and them. Regardless of my statement, I definitely
consider the popular politics that Vladimir Putin's regime was not opposed
strongly enough in the West to be wrong, because “even if Putin is
authoritarian, his successor can be even worse”.
Still, millions of Russians, whatever they
think of Vladimir Putin, see, and feel that Russia is much bigger than its
current geographical borders. They also support the imperialist policies of
their country! This kind of thinking also manifests itself in Russians abroad,
which erupts on the surface as grumpy behaviour or endless victimization, where
Russians see themselves as victims who are treated badly by the West. Many of
them lack the ability and desire to critically evaluate not only their own
actions, but also the actions of their country! Which can also be seen in the
fact that they do not take responsibility for their own actions, in fact many
Russians are not even able to understand the consequences of their actions!
Retreating from responsibility, stating “I’m not a political person” is
no longer enough. Silence is also an act, a choice, which is preceded by the
decision to be silent! Not taking a stand is therefore a choice, commitment!
Former hockey star Aleksandr Barkov
senior will not be able to skate from responsibility with his statement, which
he uttered in an interview with Ilta-Sanomat on January 1, 2023.
“What do you think about Russia’s war of
aggression against Ukraine?
– I don’t want to go terribly deep, but I’m
against all the wars that happen in the world, he says and stops.
- - -
Barkov doesn’t feel that he has the expertise
to evaluate world politics, but he clearly is in his sorrows.
– Yes, it's [war] a bad thing. I want the best for the
world. It is up to the politicians to resolve these issues.” (1)
Barkov was not asked to take a position on
world politics, but to give his opinion on the criminal war of aggression, in
which Russia is bombing civilian targets, and in which its soldiers are
torturing and murdering Ukrainians. He couldn’t do that; he chose to be silent!
While Aleksandr Barkov prefers to remain silent
rather than take a stand, the Russian-born municipal politician from
Lappeenranta, Ekaterina ‘Katja’ Marova (Left Alliance; Vasemmistoliitto)
is not content to just remain silent, but she repeats the Russian narrative in
her statements, hoping for news from the media that would also report Russia’s
views on the background of the war, such as the fear of NATO expansion. (2)
Underlying such a wish must be, at least on some level, the belief that Russia’s
irrational fear of a NATO attack on Russia is correct.
At the point when Ekaterina Marova gives a hundred
thumbs up to a social media post that questions the guilt of the Russians
for the Bucha massacre last year, then we have already stepped over the border
of conventionality. Bucha was de-occupied in
March-April 2022, at a time when Marova commented with a thumbs-up that the
evidence of Russia’s guilt was crushing. It was no longer about individual
civilian casualties – deaths caused by warfare – but mass executions, murders
of prisoners, suspected war crimes, etc. Marova confirms the narrative spread
by Russian propaganda about Bucha’s staging, instead Sofia Kazakov, who
was also a parliamentary candidate of Valta kuuluu kansalle-party, and
has a Russian background, openly spreads Russian propaganda and disinformation as
well as anti-Semitism.
And as my readers may have noticed, the “ordinary
Russian” in the title of my blog is a person of Russian background living
in Finland, who has lived in a world saturated with Western media messages, but
still wishes to hear the Kremlin’s narrative through. Perhaps it is also
appropriate to ask what has been done wrong here in Finland? And have the
Finnish media offered enough up-to-date information to Russians who think like
Marova and challenged them to examine events critically?
A Russian living in Finland who thinks like
Marova does not come as a surprise to me. Apparently, they have integrated into
Finland, but their spiritual home is not in Finland! They don’t necessarily
seek information from the Finnish (Western) media, as many turn a blind eye to
the actions of their administration, because it makes life easier here in
Finland in their society. And when enough people do this, it silences even more
gravel voices (opponents of the regime). In the end, a significant part chooses
to remain silent and be an apolitical person, in which case it is easier for a small,
loud, and aggressive group to control positions, opinions supporting the
Russian regime, etc.
Russians living in Finland have also been
guilty of harassing Ukrainians and spreading deliberate lies, e.g., a year ago
in spring a woman of Russian background who worked as an entrepreneur in the
healthcare sector spread lies about the bad behaviour of Ukrainian refugees. (3)
The woman in question, who works as an entrepreneur in Helsinki, did not
actually work at the refugee centre in Juuka, where she claimed to have worked
and met Ukrainian refugees.
A year ago, a car parade was organized in
Finland by the Suomalais-venäläinen RuFi association in honour of Victory
Day. (4) In the past, the RuFi association has organized marches of
the Immortal Regiment in Finland, for the first time on May 9, 2017. In
an interview with Helsingin Sanomat, the president of the association, Daria
Skippari-Smirnov, defended the civilian casualties caused by the Russian
war of aggression, while in the same interview spreading Kremlin propaganda
about the bombings carried out by Ukraine –
“Of course, when there's a war, the bomb
might hit somewhere else. It cannot be avoided…”. (5)
Before the car parade a year ago, a WhatsApp
group of Finno-Russians discussed bringing weapons to the car parade,
the same group also incited hatred against Ukrainians. (6) According to my
information, there will be no march of the Immortal Regiment in Finland this
year, just like no motorcade. On the other hand, this follows the line defined
by the Kremlin, as the marches of the Immortal Regiment are banned in Russia as
well.
For Finno-Russians or Russians living in
Finland, participation in Russia’s war in Ukraine has its own chapter. Some of
them have enlisted in the volunteer forces provided by Russia since 2014, but I
also know of individual Russians who have returned to Russia after February 24,
2022, with the sole purpose of enlisting in the Russian armed forces or the
forces of other security organizations in Russia. I will return to this theme
and observations later this year.
In my writing, I have discussed the theme of
the collective responsibility of Russians for the war in Ukraine, through
examples created by Russians abroad. Similar examples can also be found in
other European countries, such as Germany. (7)
What about those who live in Russia? At this
point, it would be extremely easy for me to use opinion polls as evidence,
which prove that Vladimir Putin still has solid support in Russia, from which
it can be concluded that the war (in Russian terms, a special operation)
still has solid support in the country. This despite the fact that since
February 24, 2022, Russia has killed tens of thousands of its soldiers in
Ukraine – with the total number of fallen and dead and missing already well
over a hundred thousand soldiers. In this case, I see opinion polls as
secondary evidence, even though they prove that the majority of Russians stand
behind the actions of their government. Just like they’re behind the atrocities
and crimes committed by Russian soldiers in Ukraine.
On the other hand, the spiritual atmosphere in
Russia, as well as among many Russians abroad, shows that introspection has not
been practiced, as well as no self-criticism – which is also supported by the
examples from Finland.
Social media platforms reveal in their own
harsh way how “ordinary Russians” relate to the atrocities of their
compatriots in Ukraine. In this case, it must be considered that commentators
from different groups form a one-dimensional sample of the entire nation. Millions
of Russians do not have the opportunity to access the Internet regularly, on
the other hand, this group is mainly dependent on the programs of Russian state
television channels, so it is more than likely that they sympathize with the
war as well as with the brutal murder of Ukrainians. So, I believe that the
photo collage below with explanations describes the attitude of Russians
towards their countrymen in Ukraine crimes committed quite well.
You can find quite a lot of messages from
Russians like the examples in the photo collage on Telegram, YouTube, and many
other social media channels. The messages convey an image of a country and
people that are morally degenerate and corrupt!
The arrogance and contemptuous behaviour of the
Russians and those who support them no longer even amazes me. A little over a
year ago, I imagined that this kind of behaviour would slowly fade away, but
still this group of Russians behaving like jerks is the one who controls the
space while other Russians stay out (or are content to be silent). The Russians
also seem to get energy for their actions from their ability to “play
victims” and see the reason for the bad treatment of Russia and Russians
only in other countries and peoples. The fact that the state is totalitarian
and the punishments for opponents of the regime are long is also not a defense
for the Russians. Nor is it that, being apolitical individuals, they protect
their loved ones (or even want to maintain their relationship with them).
These do not serve as a defense, because we
have seen Russians go to resistance individually or in groups, the bravest have
taken up arms and gone to war against their countrymen. There are also critics
of the Russian regime in Finland, some of the Russians living in Finland are
very active on social media, fighting against the lies of the Kremlin, so the
explanation “I am an apolitical person” is nothing more than an excuse
to remain silent.
If Russia intends to one day return to the
ranks of civilized nations, the Russians collectively have a considerable
period of introspection and review of their own actions - and not only their
own, but the entire country’s past actions ahead of them is a critical review
and reconciliation! Without this, Russia should be kept isolated until there is
a will to critically examine the past and to atone for its actions.
Marko
Sources:
1. https://www.is.fi/jaakiekko/art-2000009293343.html
2. https://www.hs.fi/kotimaa/art-2000009239132.html
3. https://yle.fi/a/3-12450742
4. https://yle.fi/a/3-12436052
5. https://www.hs.fi/kotimaa/art-2000008779634.html
7. https://www.rferl.org/a/germany-pro-russia-rallies-discrimination/31795983.html
Original blog in Finnish: ”Tavallisen venäläisen” toive: Median pitäisi lännessä kertoa Ukrainan sodasta myös Venäjän näkökulma.
RuFi ry – part of Russian propaganda and influence in Finland.
#StandWithUkraine
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