Russian political prisoner Ilya Yashin passed through his associates a handwritten letter to Czech President Petr Pavel, in which he commented on Pavel's words about the need to spy on Russians living in Western Europe. The letter was published by the Czech edition Denik N, The Insider cites its text in full.
Hello Mr President!
My name is Ilya Yashin. I am an opposition politician from Russia and have been in prison for a year, from where I am writing these lines to you. The Putin court sentenced me to 8.5 years in prison because of anti-war statements. In our country, this has become a common practice: hundreds of students, workers, journalists, teachers and other citizens who oppose the war with Ukraine have been sent to jail.
The other day, Mr. President, you became an unwitting participant in a discussion that unfolded between me and my neighbors in a prison cell. These are different people, different ages, with different experiences. My life choices, open position and refusal to emigrate surprise many of them. We often argue. Sometimes such conversations are reminiscent of meetings with voters that I regularly held when I was the head of one of the Moscow municipalities.
And I try to convey a simple idea to my voters and cellmates: Russia can be different. We are not doomed to dictatorship, we can live with dignity and peace, and European values correspond to the interests of the Russian people. They tell how the same Germany went from gloomy Nazism to democracy, and Hitler was replaced by anti-fascist Konrad Adenauer. I give many historical examples. Including the example of the Czech Republic and its first post-Soviet president, Vaclav Havel, whom I consider a great humanist and whom I respect very much.
Someone will say that such conversations are meaningless. I do not agree. For example, among my cellmates was an army foreman, who had recently fought on the territory of Ukraine. At first, behind bars, he only lived with the thought of returning to the front. But after a couple of months he promised me not to take up arms anymore. I don't know if he will keep his word or not. But I think even the very fact of this promise and reflection matters.
And just imagine: in the midst of another such discussion, you appear on the TV screen, Mr. President. Kremlin propaganda relishes your words that all Russians living in Western countries should be taken under strict control by local intelligence agencies. You refer to the experience of the United States during World War II, where 120,000 people of Japanese origin were interned, and call it "just the cost of war."
My cellmates are listening attentively to your speech.
"Is this your Havel?" one of them asks me.
“No,” I clarify. This is Peter Pavel.
“It doesn't matter, Havel and Pavel,” says another. – But Putin correctly explains that for the West we are all second-class people. Both you and me. Doesn't matter".
I try to protest, but the oldest prisoner interrupts me. “You are a bad politician, Ilya,” he sighs. Because you are a romantic.
You know, Mr. President… Maybe I'm really a romantic, but I sincerely believe in European values. I believe that people are equal and that everyone deserves fair treatment. That everyone should be judged by his actions, and not "for the company." I believe that in a free society, the secret services will not take a person under control because of his nationality. I believe that my country will be able to get rid of the oppression of the dictatorship – as yours and many other European countries of the Free World once did. I believe that Russia and Europe can be in peace and good neighborliness.
For this belief, I am sitting in Putin's prison. After all, Putin is hammering into the heads of my compatriots that Europe is an enemy, and its leaders are Russophobes. Please don't help Putin convince the Russians of this and be fair to my people.
Believe me, we are not a country of killers. We are a country where assassins have taken over.
With best wishes, Ilya Yashin.
Last week, Czech President Petr Pavel said in an interview with Radio Liberty that Russian citizens living in Europe should be monitored by special services.
This drew criticism from Russian social media users. Of particular indignation were the parallels that Pavel drew between the position of Russians in the EU countries and the Japanese during World War II in the USA.
“I can feel sorry for these people, but at the same time, if we look at history, at the time when the Second World War began, the entire Japanese population of the United States was also put under close surveillance. This is just the price of war,” Pavel said.
After the outbreak of World War II, the US authorities interned about 125,000 ethnic Japanese living in the country, most of whom were American citizens.