Abstract
Putin’s assault on freedoms continues but so too does the bravery of those fighting him, writes
But it’s vitally important that we do not allow evil to become normal. That we remember how life was before and how it should be. That war and aggression are punished and not accepted. It is only just over a year since we all watched in horror as Vladimir Putin’s Russia initiated it’s all-out invasion, a year since images of lines of tanks dominated every news report, a year since Volodomyr Zelensky became a war leader and a household name throughout the world.
The people of Ukraine did nothing to initiate this war. They did not choose violence, but every family is now paying the price for Putin’s aggression. Ukrainian families are divided, spread throughout Europe. People are traumatised; they have lost loved ones and too many live under perpetual fear of the next Russian onslaught.
Zelensky speaks at a press conference in February 2023 during the EUCO summit, asking for additional support for Ukraine against Russia
CREDIT: SOPA Images Limited/Alamy
Since February 2022 the towns and cities of Kyiv, Mariupol, Kherson and Kharkiv have become as familiar to us as communities in our own countries. We watched in horror as children sheltered from bombs in basements, as women, children and the elderly were encouraged to leave their homes and flee to different countries. In the last year we’ve heard stories of humanity at its best as communities came together to embrace refugees, and at its worst as war crimes were shown on our screens every day.
Over eight million Ukrainians have been forced to leave their country and a further eight million people have been forced to leave their homes and move to safer parts of the country. The UN maintains that over 8,000 Ukrainian civilians have been killed in the last year, with thousands more hurt as the Russians bombard urban areas. And as they defend themselves against Russian aggression every person able to fight has joined the military – everyone is on the frontline, whether they are fighting, supporting those who are fighting or just going about their business in towns and cities which the Russians seek to attack.
I make no apologies for standing with the people of Ukraine and with Nato’s efforts to support the Ukrainian military. This is a matter of freedom, of the basic right to live in peace, without fear. It is a human rights issue and it is a freedom of expression issue. The war has been as much about values – protecting plurality and rights – as about sovereignty. And so it is a matter for a global charity which takes a stand against totalitarianism.
As president Joe Biden has made clear throughout the war, Ukraine is now the frontline in the battle of autocrats versus democrats. There are no fences to sit on. Each and every one of us needs to determine whose side we are on and I am a democrat. I believe in state sovereignty, in democratic free and fair elections, in the right to protest, in the right to a free media and the various other pillars that form the foundations of free expression. Putin stands opposed to each and every one of these core tenants of our democracy.
Amid the horror and heartbreak we must not forget the inspirational acts from people who never expected to be on the frontline. The women who came together to feed their communities, the soldiers who freed their families from Russian occupation, the farmers who while under fire ensured that the crops were gathered, the journalists who risked it all reporting the latest offensive. As ever it is their stories which we should tell and it’s their pain we should mark.
In the midst of this war, however, it is easy to forget the Russian dissidents, the people who are adamant that Putin doesn’t act in their name, the people whose actions will hopefully one day lead to peace. In the heat of war, whilst living under an authoritarian regime, it requires a level of bravery beyond my comprehension to speak out – to challenge your government, to oppose military action, to argue for peace when you live under an autocrat. That’s exactly what many Russian people have done since the war began.
We know that the phrase media freedom is somewhat of an anathema to Putin’s government and that he has used his “special military operation” in Ukraine as an excuse to close down what was left of formal dissent. As of the beginning of March 2023 Ovd-Info (our 2022 Freedom of Expression award winners) have documented 19,586 people who have been arrested across Russia for protesting the war. Of those 71% are women. When the cases get to court no one can expect a fair trial; 275 cases have progressed without legal counsel because the state prevented it.
And yet protest continues across the Russian Federation every day. Whilst it’s impossible to accurately gauge levels of support for the war, we know that even the most terrifying punishments are not stopping dissent. In late February, for example, Alexei Moskalyov was arrested. His crime was merely to post anti-war messages on a domestic social media platform, to challenge the Russian army over raping women in Bucha and to defend his 12-year-old daughter, Maria, who dared to draw a picture in school promoting Ukraine. That is bravery beyond my comprehension. So it is our job to make sure that those people who are brave enough to challenge Putin and the current status quo have a platform to do so.
Index was founded for this reason, over 50 years ago, when we provided a platform for Soviet dissidents at the height of the Cold War. Our raison d’etre has always been as a space for the persecuted, where the brave and the disillusioned can tell their stories.
The last year has taken my team and I full circle, reminding us of our proud heritage and ensuring that we keep striving to promote and protect the right of freedom of expression in totalitarian regimes.
Today and every day we remember those that have paid the ultimate sacrifice to defend their country, the civilians who have been caught in the crossfire and those brave dissidents who, in the direst of circumstances, keep trying to speak truth to power.
Slava Ukraini.