'We are accused of seizing power in the Russian Federation. But, excuse me, when did we personally come to live in the Russian Federation? We lived in Ukraine, and none of us moved to the Russian Federation. The Russian Federation came to us itself. It annexed our homeland Crimea as part of its country. Moreover, it did so illegally. And this is not my personal opinion, but the opinion of the entire international community.'
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.'
'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.'
'Allah sees that my conscience is clear.'
'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.'
'You’re not trying a terrorist in this court. You’re trying a musician, an artist, a pacifist.'
‘Stop torturing my grandmother and my children.’
'It is unacceptable to persecute for art.'
‘It’s as though we’re in a “Black Mirror” episode right now. Honestly, it all suggests my case is politically motivated.’
'I am not a foreign agent. I am a citizen of Russia.'
'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 must completely trample on the law and common sense to find calls for extremist activity in songs written a hundred years ago…'
'For some reason, it is now customary to take pride only in military successes. Excuse me, but the motherland is like a mother. Mothers sometimes get sick, and sometimes things don't work out for them. Does that mean we stop loving them? No.'
‘These handcuffs are temporary, sooner or later, they will be removed.’
'I don’t want to talk and speculate about journalism, about its problems in Russia, because there is no more journalism in Russia.'
‘I demand the maximum sentence. Because I despise you. I will not live on this land or in this country with you.’
'This country does not belong only to the 5 or 10 children of oligarchs, but to the millions of other children as well. Every child in Azerbaijan has the right to live in prosperity, justice, and dignity.'
‘I never held anti-Soviet views or convictions and never had the aim of weakening Soviet power.’
'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.'
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