Photo: Depositphotos
Berlin, 1 March – The second march of the Russian opposition under the slogan “Russia against Putin” took place in the German capital. The event, organised by Ilya Yashin, Vladimir Kara-Murza and Yulia Navalnaya, gathered about 800 participants, according to German police, which is significantly less than in November last year, DW reports.
This march took place on the anniversary of Alexei Navalny’s funeral, and his name, along with Boris Nemtsov and other Russian political prisoners, became the leitmotif of the action. At the same time, the word “war” was used much less frequently among the slogans of the march, which underscores the shift in the protest movement’s focus.
“Vladimir Putin is a coward and a scoundrel, because only cowards and scoundrels shoot in the back, poison with Novichok and attack a peaceful neighbouring country at night,” Vladimir Kara-Murza said on stage.
Controversial symbols: Russian flags and Ukrainian support
One of the main outcomes of the November march was a debate about the appropriateness of using the Russian tricolour at anti-war rallies in Europe. This time, there were more Russian flags on Potsdamer Platz, although the first column led by the organisers carried banners with anti-Putin and anti-war slogans in Russian, English and German: “No to Putin, no to war”, “Freedom for political prisoners”, “Putin is a murderer”, “Russia against Putin”.
There were few flags of Ukraine among the protesters. Some participants wrapped themselves in them or carried placards with Ukrainian symbols, but their presence was less visible. Businessman Yevgeny Chichvarkin, who had previously announced his withdrawal from Russian politics, decided to support the march this time and addressed the participants:
“If we want a free and liberal country, we need to get used to the fact that there may be flags that some people find inappropriate.”
At the same time, Iryna Shcherbakova, co-founder of the Memorial Human Rights Society, who led the column with portraits of political prisoners, admitted that there were not enough Ukrainian flags at the rally:
“We stand for the freedom of political prisoners, but I miss the Ukrainian flags a little bit. This is the moment of truth, and not everyone realises it.”
She also highlighted the crisis moment in international politics, alluding to the recent dispute between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the White House:
“The situation is becoming threatening, and the discord we see here is only indicative of the general confusion.”
Results and challenges for the Russian opposition
The Berlin march once again demonstrated the divisions within the Russian opposition, which is torn between the desire to demonstrate an anti-war stance and internal disputes over symbols and strategies of struggle. The decrease in the number of participants may indicate a loss of mobilisation potential or a shift in focus to other forms of protest. At the same time, given the further escalation of political repression in Russia, the issue of the unity of the opposition movement is becoming critical for its future.
