Russia: Russian opposition members protest against Putin regime in Geneva

1000 days after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, dozens of exiled Russians protested against President Vladimir Putin’s regime in Geneva on Sunday. Among other things, they demanded an immediate end to the war. “Stop Putin”, could be read.

In Zurich, around 50 exiled Russians in opposition had already gathered for a rally at Bürkliplatz on Saturday – as in Geneva. Members of the opposition in Belarus against the autocrat Alexander Lukashenko were also present.

In addition to the immediate withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine, the demands included the release of all political prisoners in Russia and that Putin be brought to justice. After all, the International Criminal Court in The Hague issued an arrest warrant for war crimes against the Russian president in March 2023.

The rallies in Zurich and Geneva were organized by the association Russia of the Future – Switzerland and were part of a worldwide campaign. The large march on Sunday in Berlin with over 1,000 participants was led by exiled Russian opposition activists Yulia Navalnaya, Ilya Yashin and Vladimir Kara-Mursa. The end point was the Russian embassy in the German capital on the boulevard Unter den Linden.

1,000 days ago, at dawn on February 24, 2022, Russian troops began their invasion of Ukraine from the north, east and south. This was on Putin’s orders in Moscow – among other things, with the justification of pre-empting a threat to Russia from the West with an armed Ukraine and liberating the country from a “Nazi government”.

SDA