I don't know who's going to read this but anyway hi, I hope you're having a good day.
So it seems to have become a woke trend for companies and different platforms to leave Russia. The motivation behind this, as far as I can tell, is to make the Russian people take action against the government and help impact its insane politics. The war in Ukraine, when we first heard about it being planned, seemed an outrageous, preposterous notion. As much as everyone in Russia realized that the Russian government has long gone off a deep end, we were hoping Putin was bluffing; after all, a huge part of the population has familial ties with Ukrainians and are from there originally. By the time the war began, no one wanted it, no matter their political views. I talked to my parents about it and while already the putinist propoganda has taken root in their minds, we all agreed the war has to stop. A month went by, what do I see now--my mom literally said to me the other day, an answer to my question of 'how can the entire world be wrong and Russia the only one in the right?', she said that was exactly the case. I tried countless times to explain how they are brainwashed, to which she told me I was brainwashed--yeah, right, because I am the one who's watching TV 24/7. The scary thing is my parents' generation grew up already programmed to blindly support their government, the Soviet ideology already taught them how the west is out to get them, I see that remnant of the past resurrecting in their eyes. To my relief, people like that are a minority, and mostly older. I don't know anyone my own age, I'm 19, including people in the span of 15 years older, who believes that **bleep** nonsense about **bleep** taking over Ukraine. That said people are scared to speak up, many do and face the consequences, horrific consequences. I wish I could just leave Russia too, Spotify, Netflix, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter. The war in Ukraine has to stop, who would've thought a war like that was even possible in 2022. Innocent people are suffering at the hands of one deranged power-maniac. I don't want my country to turn into North Korea. I'm not responsible for the war, ordinary Russians are not responsible. Putin couldn't care less about Spotify or Instagram leaving Russia, he will use the suctions to play victim. But please don't underestimate the effect it will have on our society, don't cut us off from the outside world. What alternatives am I left with? Russian streaming services, Russian social media platforms. The young people, now resisting and condemning the actions of our leaders, are being oppressed and silenced, the propoganda also does not spare the malleable minds of teenagers. We need to stay in touch with truth, we need to stay connected with the rest of the world, we need to be able to listen to our favorite artists, read our favorite books, watch our favorite movies. Culture has always been a place for people of all walks of life to come together and share with each other. Art communicates, influences, inspires change, shows how much we have in common, art connects and unites. Cultural censorship is a hallmark of totalitarianism. The Russian television is heavily controlled by the government, they shut down any hint of opposition. But who even watches tv anymore? My parents who are 50, my grandmother who is 76. Anybody younger uses internet, and through it are able to see what is really happening. Please, don't assist our government in their attempts to isolate us from the world, from the truth, from the global community. Don't make it easier for Putin to manipulate and lie to us.
Thank you for reading!
Warm regards from Saint-Petersburg,
Alyona
Staff / Moderator/ 3 years ago in Social & Random