Most Russians and even many in the opposition do not believe that they and Russia can change, and this helps keep Vladimir Putin and his regime in power, Yuliya Galyamina says. But it is critically important to convince them otherwise and look for opportunities to make changes even when there don’t appear to be any.
The feminist leader who was among those who created the Soft Force movement in Russia two days before Putin announced his “special military operation” in Ukraine, a group that just held its first congress, argues that only non-violent means can lead to change as violence begets violence (holod.media/2022/11/08/galiamina-interview/).
“Unfortunately,” Galyamina says, “even opposition figures frequently support the use of force. For example, Ponomaryov is justifying terrorist acts and Volkov is backing the firebombing of military commissariats. This won’t…
