The Kremlin critic Ilya Yashin faces ten years in prison for alleged “fake news”. He describes how he is intimidated, why he never thought about leaving his country – and what gives him hope.
Interviewed by
Silke Bigalke, Moscow
An encounter with Ilya Yashin at the end of February. Moscow’s streets are almost deserted, with barriers and prison buses everywhere. Yashin comes with red roses to the bridge in front of the Kremlin, where exactly seven years earlier his friend, opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, was shot. The authorities have banned a commemorative train, and only a few people dare to climb onto the bridge between the bars. Those who come also want to take a stand against the war, which Yashin calls “brother-destroying.” It’s important, he says on the bridge, “that there’s a feeling in the air that people don’t want war.” Police are all around.