The following letter from prominent Russian democratic intellectuals appeared in the The New York Review February 4.
There is an ever-increasing stream of alarming news about a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine. There are reports of an increase in the recruitment of mercenaries in Russia and the transfer of fuel and military equipment to the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk. In response, Ukraine arms itself and NATO sends additional forces to Eastern Europe. The tension does not diminish, but rather rises.
Russian citizens become de facto hostages of a reckless adventurism that now characterizes Russian foreign policy. Not only do the Russians have to live with the uncertainty of whether a full-scale war will start, but they are also experiencing a sharp rise in prices and a devaluation of their currency. Is this the kind of politics the Russians need? Do they want war and are they ready to bear the brunt of it? Did they allow the authorities to gamble with their lives like this?
But no one asks the opinion of Russian citizens. There is no public debate. State television presents only one point of view, that of the warmongers. Direct military threats, aggression and hatred are aimed at Ukraine, the United States and the West. But the most dangerous thing is that war is portrayed not only as permitted, but as inevitable. This is an attempt to deceive the population, to impose on them the idea of going on a crusade against the West, rather than investing in the development of the country and the improvement of the standard of living. The cost of the conflict is never discussed, but the price – the enormous and bloody price – will be paid by the Russian people.
We, responsible citizens and patriots of Russia, appeal to Russian political leaders. We openly and publicly denounce the War Party which has formed within the government.
We represent the view of those in Russian society who reject war, who consider it illegal to use military threats and to deploy a style of blackmail in foreign policy.
We refuse war, while you, the War Party, consider it acceptable. We stand for peace and prosperity for all Russian citizens, while you put our lives on the line in political games. You deceive and manipulate people, while we tell them the truth. You don’t speak on behalf of the Russian people, we do. For decades, the Russian people, who lost millions of lives in past wars, lived by the saying, “if only there were no war”. Did you forget that?
Our position is quite simple. Russia does not need a war with Ukraine and the West. No one threatens us, no one attacks us. Policies based on the idea of such a war are immoral and irresponsible and should not be carried out in the name of the Russian people. Such a war lacks legitimacy and has no moral basis. Russian diplomacy should take no position other than a categorical rejection of such a war.
Such a war not only does not reflect Russia’s interests, but also threatens the very existence of the country. The senseless actions of the country’s political leaders, pushing us in this direction, will inevitably lead to a mass anti-war movement in Russia. Each of us will naturally play a part in it.
We will do everything in our power to prevent this war and, if it starts, to stop it.
Sign,
Lev Ponomaryov, human rights activist
Valery Borshchev, human rights activist
Svetlana Gannushkina, human rights activist
Leonid Gozman, politician
Liya Akhedzhakova, actress and People’s Artist of the Russian Federation
Andrey Makarevich, musician
Garri Bardin, director
Viktor Chenderovitch, writer
Tatiana Lazareva, TV presenter
Andrey Zubov, historian and politician
Andrey Nechaev, politician
Alina Vitukhnovskaya, writer
Alexandre Belavin, physicist
Nikolai Rozanov, corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Natalia Evdokimova, executive secretary of the Saint Petersburg Human Rights Council
Efim Khazanov, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Ilya Ginzburg, physicist and professor
Zoya Svetova, journalist
Grigory Yavlinsky, politician
Lev Shlosberg, politician
Boris Vishnevsky, politician
Lev Gudkov, sociologist and professor
Igor Chubais, philosopher
Tatyana Voltskaya, poet and journalist
Boris Sokolov, historian and writer
Mikhail Krieger, civic activist
Veronika Dolina, poet
Vladimir Mirzoev, director
Ksenia Larina, journalist
Andrey Piontkovsky, publicist
Mark Urnov, Professor, National Research University Graduate School of Economics
Mikhail Lavrenov, writer
Nikolai Prokudin, writer
Elena Fanailova, poet and journalist
Grigory Mikhnov-Vaytenko, clergyman
Lev Levinson, human rights activist
Sergei Germann, member of the Writers’ Union of Russia
Vladimir Alex, civil activist
Yuri Gimmelfarb, journalist
Yuri Samodurov, human rights activist
Evgeniy Tsymbal, civil activist
Vitaly Dixon, writer
Natalya Mavlevitch, translator
Ashraf Fattakhov, lawyer
Viktor Yunak, writer
Valeria Prikhodkina, human rights activist
Elena Grigorieva, children’s poet
Vera Shabelnikova, editor
Mair Makhaev, philosopher and linguist
Grigory Amnuel, producer, director, publicist and politician.
Sergei Krivenko, human rights activist
Yaroslav Nikitenko, environmental and civil activist and scientist
Tatyana Yankelevich Bonner, human rights activist
Nikita Sokolov, historian
Anatoly Golubovsky, historian
Nikolai Rekubratsky, researcher
Vitold Abankin, human rights activist
Elena Bukvareva, doctor of biological sciences
Igor Toporkov, human rights activist
Evgeny Kalakin, director
Liudmila Alpern, human rights activist
Nina Caterly, writer
Vladimir Zalishchak, city deputy
Olga Mazurova, doctor
Oleg Motkov, director
Natalya Pakhsaryan, professor at Moscow State University
Elena Volkova, philologist and culturologist
Valery Otstavnykh, director and journalist
Georgy Karetnikov, civil activist
Marina Boroditskaya, writer
Sergey Lutsenko, animation supervisor
Alexey Diveev, programmer
Tatyana Vorozheykina, lecturer at the Free University of Moscow
Tatyana Kotlyar, human rights activist
Anatoly Barmin, pharmacist
Valentin Skvortsov, professor at Moscow State University
Lev Ingel, physicist
Mikhail Mints, historian
Leonid Chubarov, professor
Katya-Anna Taguti, artist
Elena Efros, civil activist
Anna Shapiro, director
Tatyana Dorutina, member of the Saint Petersburg Human Rights Council
Arkady Konikov, programmer
Sergei Pechenkin, civil activist
Anatoly Razumov, historian
Alexander Sannikov, Colonel of the Russian Armed Forces (retired)
Anatoly Tsirlin, teacher
Karen Hakobyan, teacher
A complete list of signatories is available here.
