Let’s not Forget about the brave Russians: Meet Natalya Sindeyeva.
Russia is far more than Putin.
I think we can all agree that the invasion of Ukraine is terrible. I am pretty sure nobody (besides some Republicans) wants to defend Putin at this point. But we should not demonize an entire country and its population.
We all know the stereotype of cold and brutal Eastern Europeans. We grew up with movies that mostly know two types of villains: the ones with Russian and the ones with German accents. Imagine what that feels like?
I am German, and I think it’s weird that these stereotypes partly determine how we think about people from other countries.
But I am also aware that almost every nation ends up with leaders who somehow represent the culture of a country. And this can go both ways.
Imagine describing American culture based on Obama’s or Trump’s presidency. But it’s still the same country, right?
In Russia, things are even more complicated.
Most of us forget that the early 90s were a terrible time for the majority of Russians. The Soviet Union collapsed, people lost their jobs, and a small group of powerful men became billionaires. There was a lot of violence in post-Soviet Russia. Some say it was a free-for-all.
At that time, investors from all around the world entered Russia and tried to take advantage of the chaos. It’s not surprising that former members of the Soviet regime found their way into positions of power. And nobody was able to stop them.
Putin, a former KGB agent, was one of these men. He managed to take power and silence his opponents. What we are seeing in Ukraine these days is not surprising to those Russians who tried to speak up against Putin.
Natalya Sideyeva is one of these Russians. She started the TV channel “Dozhd” in 2008.
Last night, I saw a documentary called “F@ck this job” on television. It’s a production of the BBC and German national TV. I feel everyone who tends to vilify Russians should watch it.
This documentary shows us how Sideyeva and her husband basically throw away their privileged lifestyle to fight for democracy in Russia. The slogan of…
