Russian dissidents led by Yashin, Navalnaya, and Kara-Murza to stage antiwar march in Berlin next month

On November 17, a trio of Russian dissidents in exile — Ilya Yashin, Vladimir Kara-Murza, and Yulia Navalnaya — plan to lead a march in Berlin against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 

In a statement on social media, Yashin said the antiwar demonstration’s demands are threefold: (1) the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine, (2) the prosecution of Vladimir Putin as a war criminal, and (3) the release of all political prisoners. Yashin acknowledged that antiwar rallies are impossible in Russia today, given police pressure and the illegality of such public assemblies, but he said he and his colleagues nevertheless hope to show that a “peaceful, free, and civilized Russia” still exists. 

Yashin was sentenced to 8.5 years in prison in December 2022 for writing online about Russian war atrocities in Ukraine. In August 2024, he and Kara-Murza were freed (Yashin says it was against his will) as part of the Ankara prisoner exchange, which involved the release of 24 others.