“There are many people in Russia who are against the war”: statements by three Russian dissidents after the prisoner exchange

Early August 2024, Russia and Western countries have waged a massive campaign exchange prisoners which positioned itself as the most important since the end of the Cold War.

It is the result of conversations that lasted more than two years and allowed more than twenty people to leave from the territories in which they were detained.

Among them were found three Russian dissidents who were serving their respective sentences imposed by the Kremlin to be opposed to the measures of President Vladimir Putin.

Their names are Vladimir Kara-Murza, Ilya Yashin and Andrei Pivovarov .

After leaving Russian territory They were transferred to Germany, where they gave a lecture press conference in the city of Bonn.

This example was the first in which they tell about their experiences in the Russian prison and in which they expressed their feelings after their release from prison.

According to statements collected by Deutsche Welle , Kara-Murza predicted that “it seems really surreal.” to the point that “it looks like a movie.”

“I was sure I was going to die in Putin’s prison” he stressed.

The opponent of the regime explained that He had been imprisoned in Siberia, then taken to the Lefortovo penitentiary before being sent to the European country.

Ilya Yashin said that upon his arrival in Germany he had a conversation with Chancellor Olaf Scholz, during which he He said he understood “how difficult it is to release a murderer.” following the agreement reached with Russia.

With this last one discussed the case of Russian spy Vadim Krasikov who was serving a sentence in Germany for killing former Chechen militant Zelimkhan Khangoshvili in Berlin in August 2019.

“In exchange for a murderer, two people who had done nothing wrong had to be released” stressed the politician opposed to the Russian government.

For his part, Kara-Murza—who won an award pulitzer in May 2024 for the columns he wrote from his cell – has called into question some of the criticism which the German authorities received, due to the terms of the negotiations with the Kremlin.

In this sense, he said that The goal was to save lives. “Do not exchange prisoners.”

“Scholz is sometimes criticized for the difficult decision to release Putin’s personal assassin, but Easy decisions are only made in dictatorships ” suggested Kara-Murza.

Him and Yashin They denied signing confessions or statements asking for forgiveness. while behind bars in Russia.

In this sense, the second stressed that “I would not ask a favor from a person I consider a tyrant, a murderer, an enemy of his own country.” .

““We never gave our consent (to be expelled from Russia), but here we are.” Kara-Muza added, as reported by the aforementioned German media.

At the conference, Yashin said he had intended to stay in the country but agreed to the exchange for fear it would be canceled. .

He, in particular, was serving an eight-and-a-half-year sentence in Moscow after criticizing the Kremlin for launching the invasion of Ukraine February 24, 2022.

He commented in this instance that will continue to express its opposition to the regime because he understands his political “responsibility”.

Along with this, Kara-Murza stressed that “there are many people in Russia who are against the war.” that the regime has unleashed in the country of President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Such people, he said, “They don’t believe the Kremlin’s propaganda” .

Kara-Murza had been detained since 2022 after being sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Russian authorities have charged him with treason for denouncing the ruling party and the invasion of Ukraine .

Regarding the last thing raised by Kara-Murza, Pivovarov stressed that “it is wrong to associate the Russian people with the government’s policy.” .

The former director of the opposition group Open Russia said that There are “thousands of people in Russian prisons” who “would be happy to know that it is possible to escape” .

The three dissidents released They paid their respects to Alexei Navalny Russian opposition leader who died on February 16, 2024 while serving his sentence in a prison in the Arctic.

At this time, from the penitentiary center They said the lawyer and activist “felt unwell” after walking around and “almost immediately lost consciousness”. according to a press release to which the agency had access Reuters .

According to Pivovarov, Navalny has ‘become accustomed to the normality of torture’ .

“The fact that he is not with us East a crime committed by Putin, who bears direct responsibility for his assassination » Yashin accused.

He further reported that an officer of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) told him that if he returned to the country, His days would end “like those of Navalny” .

The prisoner exchange also carried out in August 2024 considered, among other cases, the release of the journalist from the American newspaper The Wall Street Journal Evan Gershkovich, and that of some Russian spies posing as Argentinians in Slovenia.

These latter They arrived in Russia with their two children, aged 12 and 9. who, according to the Kremlin, knew neither their origins, nor the mission of their parents, nor the Russian language.

“They only found out they were Russians when the plane took off” heading towards Moscow, government spokesman Dmitry Peskov said at the time.