‘The inability to peacefully influence the actions of the authorities, and the criminal prosecution of those who disagree, leads to some leaving the country, while others decide to take action.’
Final Statements
'I saw bags over people’s heads. Wires on their limbs. Broken ribs. Damaged kidneys. People beaten to death. Starvation for over a year. No medical help. People rotting alive—their arms, their legs. Lice and bedbugs. Two showers a year that we were allowed to, and after each one, we came out filthier than before. And beaten as well.'
‘These handcuffs are temporary, sooner or later, they will be removed.’
'You’re not trying a terrorist in this court. You’re trying a musician, an artist, a pacifist.'
'And please stop calling me a soldier. I do not want to associate with bio-trash.'
'The generation that has already passed has bequeathed to us to protect the world with all our might, as the most valuable thing on Earth for all its inhabitants. And we have neglected his precepts and devalued our memory of these people and the victims of that war.'
'One cannot seek justice only for oneself and silence one’s conscience when justice is being violated in relation to others.'
'We were sentenced to 13 to 19 years for alleged terrorist activity. In this country, people get less time for actual murder.'
‘They fail to see that Ukrainians don’t need any ‘big brother’. They don’t need, much less, any so-called triune Russian people.’
'War is the fastest means of dehumanization—a state of affairs when the line between good and evil is blurred.'
'And none of this is about the law. Nor is it about the truth. And in this sense, of course, it is much easier for me, because in 20 months I have not had to lie once. And telling the truth is easy and pleasant. Ultimately, truth and justice always prevail.'
'I know my verdict. I knew it already a year ago when I saw in the rear view mirror the people in black uniforms and black masks running after my car. Such is the price in today’s Russia for refusing to stay silent.'
‘Your power is based on lies and violence’
'There is little hope for the fairness of the trial'.
'I do repent, of course. Every day for a year and a half.'
'The generation that has already passed has bequeathed to us to protect the world with all our might, as the most valuable thing on Earth for all its inhabitants. And we have neglected his precepts and devalued our memory of these people and the victims of that war.'
‘I told the truth. If I had known this truth earlier, I would have said it earlier.’
‘Modern-day Russia is a victim of negative selection.’
'What will we tell our children and grandchildren about these troubled times?'
'It's time to end patriarchy. The time for women has come.'
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