'And you, please promise to remain hopeful and to remember how to smile. If we lose the ability to enjoy life, it would mean they have won.'
Final Statements
‘We are the independent journalists of this country, we have no obligation to please the president.’
‘Modern-day Russia is a victim of negative selection.’
‘They fail to see that Ukrainians don’t need any ‘big brother’. They don’t need, much less, any so-called triune Russian people.’
'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 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.'
'Remind yourself and others: two plus two equals four. Black is black. White is white. I am a human, I am strong and bold. We are strong and bold.'
'Right now it may seem to you that I am out of my mind and all of you are sane, for one cannot swim against the current. But to me, it seems that you have gone mad.'
‘It’s as though we’re in a “Black Mirror” episode right now. Honestly, it all suggests my case is politically motivated.’
'We were sentenced to 13 to 19 years for alleged terrorist activity. In this country, people get less time for actual murder.'
'And please stop calling me a soldier. I do not want to associate with bio-trash.'
'Without the freedom of speech, without the ability of citizens to express their opinion, without fear of prosecution, a country is doomed to collapse.'
'Allah sees that my conscience is clear.'
'I am not a foreign agent. I am a citizen of Russia.'
'This is my country, this is my home, I am responsible for it. My conscience is clear, I am not ashamed or afraid'.
‘Everyone who took part in these politically ordered arrests will carry this stain for the rest of their lives.’
“I'm not going to tell you, because I know one thing: until your life gets into such a situation, no matter how I describe it, no matter how beautifully I speak about it using different slogans, it won't reach anyone”.
'It's time to end patriarchy. The time for women has come.'
'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.'
'War is the fastest means of dehumanization—a state of affairs when the line between good and evil is blurred.'
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