A Russian climate activist who fled Moscow fearing for his safety spoke of the magnitude of the repression in his homeland. Arshak Makichyan felt it was too dangerous to stay in his country with his wife Polina Oleinikova, whom he feared Vladimir Putin’s forces might have targeted and tortured. Now turning his attention to the opposition to the war in Ukraine, the young activist – who became famous for Greta Tunberg’s environmental work – says Putin’s friends want the Russian people to “feel terror.” But Arshak believes that the majority of Russians oppose the war – except for those who are “stupid” or “brainwashed”. The 27-year-old also suggested that people in the western world do not understand how difficult it is to oppose a regime he now describes as a dictatorship – and says many activists fear imprisonment or rape. Arshak says the war “canceled” all his environmental projects, but now he is focusing his campaign on promoting an embargo on Russian fossil fuels, in a bid to end the conflict. Arrested and spying on himself, he is unsure when he will return to Russia – and admits that he and his wife wonder if it would be “stupid” to do so. To view this video, enable JavaScript and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Speaking exclusively to Metro.co.uk from Berlin, he explained: “They can rape you, torture you, kill you, put pressure on your family, they can do anything. “The worst thing could be that they can arrest my wife; they tortured people in Russia before this war and now it will be worse because now we live in a dictatorship – they want people not to be afraid, they want people to (feel ) terror ». He continued: “Before this war we had this knowledge that if you are arrested you will most likely not be tortured because you are a public figure or whatever. “It does not work that way now – they can torture you, they can kill you and anything can happen because the situation is completely different.” Arshak – who considers himself primarily a climate activist and says his job as a social media manager is “just for a living” – enjoys playing the violin in his spare time. Arshak protests with Greta Thunberg (Image: @ makichyan.arshak / Instagram) But now he worries about his loved ones in Russia and says some of his friends have been arrested and detained for days just because they put up stickers or posted hashtags “not at war” on social media. He believes that repression in the country is not necessarily widespread, but adds: “It is frustrating, because you feel that they are stronger than you because they can do whatever they want to you.” Arshak remembers being detained “many times” and is facing a number of charges against him. “A month before this war we went to Tbilisi in Georgia and we were monitored,” he explains. “It was very strange that there was surveillance. I’m not Navalny (opposition leader Alexei) Navalny, I’m not very popular in Russia, but there is surveillance even on us. We are just grassroots activists.” The activist had several attacks with the police (Image: @ makichyan.arshak / Instagram) He says going to jail is not very useful for the case, but most of the tools used by activists before the war, such as social media, are now closed. Originally from Armenia, Arshak organized solo climate strikes in Moscow for weeks in 2019. But after the invasion of Ukraine, he wrote anti-war slogans on climate stickers and was later arrested. Fearing the worst, he fled to the German capital. Asked what Westerners can do to help, he suggests donating to independent media (perhaps through cryptocurrencies) and sharing knowledge about resistance with people in Russia. Arshak does not believe that many people in the West understand what it is like to resist Vladimir Putin (Image: @ makichyan.arshak / Instagram) “It’s not that easy to fight,” he explains. “People in Europe do not understand what it is like to live in a dictatorship, they do not have this experience to fight an authoritarian regime. “When you go to trial and you did nothing wrong, but they say there is no reason not to trust the police… You can be arrested for a year or 10 years and you do not have the tools to defend yourself. “It’s a completely different situation (in Europe and the US); activists in Russia are marginalized; so I think people around the world should not give advice to Russian civil society, they should just support them in every way possible. ‘ To view this video, enable JavaScript and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Putin has in the past called pro-Western Russians “scum and traitors” – an insult Arshak turns to his president. He also fears that it is “possible” that Putin could launch a nuclear strike, but hopes that an embargo on all Russian fossil fuels could end the war. “It’s a win-win situation for everything – for the climate, for the cessation of hostilities, for Europe,” he said. “If they stop buying fossil fuels from Russia, the fair transition (to zero) will go faster and Europe will be more independent of fossil fuels, which is good for everyone.” Contact our news team by emailing us at [email protected] For more stories like this, check out our news page. MORE: Russia accused of using gas supplies as “blackmail” by world leaders
