‘If I stay silent, my heart will burst’ How a Russian surgeon went from believing Kremlin propaganda to risking her freedom to oppose the war — Meduza
meduza.io
Olga Avdeyeva is a surgeon and mother of five from Izhevsk, the capital of Russia’s Republic of Udmurtia. In August 2022, she left an anti-war message beneath a large Z symbol on the side of the local theater that she passed every day on her way to work. Almost a year later, Olga was charged with “discrediting” the Russian Armed Forces. She’s now facing a fine of up to 300,000 rubles ($3,330) or up to five years in prison, but she insists she has no regrets. The independent outlet 7x7 recently told Avdeyeva’s story. Meduza retells it in English.

Olga Avdeyeva is a surgeon and mother of five from Izhevsk, the capital of Russia’s Republic of Udmurtia. In August 2022, she left an anti-war message beneath a large Z symbol on the side of the local theater that she passed every day on her way to work. Almost a year later, Olga was charged with “discrediting” the Russian Armed Forces.

  • petrescatraian@libranet.de
    26·
    1 year ago

    @0x815 I always when I see news like this I sit and think whether in a similar situation it would be worth risking my life, my integrity, my career etc. just to make a statement against the government.

    I don’t think I could resist after some point.

    I have huge respect for such people!

    • 0x815@feddit.deOP
      2221·
      1 year ago

      It’s hard to tell, but I guess that at some point you’ll need to stand up. What makes this lady’s decision even tougher is that she has five children. We must not forget that.

      • petrescatraian@libranet.de
        6·
        1 year ago

        @0x815 Indeed. It is morally and ethical to stand in these situations. But it’s really uncomfortable (to say the least) and it’s not something to be expected from everyone. Not everyone is an Alexey Navalny, or Boris Nemtsov, or Gheorghe Ursu or whatever. People like these are under immense pressure to give up on what they’re doing, to retreat their complaints and come back to what they stated, only to be prosecuted and shown how bad they actually are in the public, or that they had bad intentions etc. Once you become a dissent in a totalitarian country, there’s no way back, really. There’s only a way out.

        Edit: I’d honestly probably just leave the country, lol.

        Edit 2: more ideas that came to my mind.