Thousands of exiled Russian dissidents and opposition figures held a multi-city mobilization against Putin's regime in several European capitals Nov. 17. The largest march was in Berlin, where speakers included Yulia Navalnaya [8], widow of martyred leader Alexei Navalny [9]; Oleg Orlov [11], former director of the "liquidated" human rights organization Memorial [12]; and Vladimir Kara-Murza [13] and Ilya Yashin [14], recently freed from detention in a prisoner swap with the West. Participants carried the blue-and-white flag of the Russian opposition, as well as Ukrainian flags, while chanting "No to war" and "Putin is a killer" in Russian. (BBC News [15], RFE/RL [16])
Exiled Russian anarchists organized their own bloc at the demonstration, under slogans including "Death to the Empire," "No peace under Russian occupation," "Support resistance against Kremlin," and "Зброю українцям" (Arms for Ukrainians). Rejecting recent talk of a compromise settlement in Ukraine, their statement said: "We find it unacceptable to make concessions to the Russian fascist regime. Ukrainian resistance must be supported until the Russian army is completely expelled from Ukraine. Leaving territories under Russian occupation means condoning the murders, torture, rapes, and plundering of the indigenous population by Russian occupiers."
The anarchist statement also made clear their differences with the leadership of the march: "We reject the liberal myth of a 'Beautiful Russia of the Future.' The experience of Perestroika has shown that changing the scenery does not bring fundamental changes in the relationship between power and the people. The empire must be destroyed to its foundations, and only then will a different world be possible on the former 'Russian' territories." (Avtonom [10])
