'A racketeer offering ‘protection’ depends on the very threat he claims to shield his victim from. States in their early stages of formation operate in much the same way. Without an enemy, there is no need for a ‘protector.’ And if no enemy exists, one can always be invented.'
Final Statements
'If I am given a prison sentence, I will serve it with a clear conscience and dignity.'
'One must completely trample on the law and common sense to find calls for extremist activity in songs written a hundred years ago…'
‘I told the truth. If I had known this truth earlier, I would have said it earlier.’
‘I never held anti-Soviet views or convictions and never had the aim of weakening Soviet power.’
‘You may put me in prison, send me to a camp, but I am certain that no honest person will condemn me.’
‘I do not at present see any reason to prove my innocence with regard to the charges brought against me, since the greater part of them are absolutely unfounded and do not correspond to reality.’
‘Your power is based on lies and violence’
‘I decided to fight back. Ukraine is my home.’
'You’re not trying a terrorist in this court. You’re trying a musician, an artist, a pacifist.'
'What will we tell our children and grandchildren about these troubled times?'
'And please stop calling me a soldier. I do not want to associate with bio-trash.'
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