Voices against Putin’s War – Protester’s defiant speeches in Russian courts Edited by Simon Pirani – Resistance Books
Frank Hansen on Russians against Putin’s war
“We stand for the unconditional return to Ukraine of all its internationally recognised territories”, said Aleksandr Skobov from the dock in March 2025, as he was about to be sentenced to 16 years by a Russian military court, convicted of “justifying terrorism” (opposing the war) and “participation in a terrorist group” (a Free Russia Forum).
He is one of the 10 cases whose speeches in court (plus 2 who spoke outside court), that are recorded in this remarkable compilation. There is also a summary of 17 other protestors’ speeches and a survey of political repression in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine’s occupied territories.
This is just the tip of a massive repression. There are now more political prisoners in Russia than at any time since the 1950s, and of course, thousands of opponents have fled abroad rather than face imprisonment. As the Ukraine war reaches a critical point, “complacency and appeasement are no longer an option”.
While many sections of the left show solidarity and oppose Putin’s merciless war and occupation, there is still an influential minority who promote appeasement and peace at almost any price and even denies that Russia is the aggressor.
At a time when Putin and Trump are concocting a ‘peace plan’ to serve their own interests and deny the Ukrainian people the right to self-determination, there is an urgent need for unequivocal solidarity with those opposing Russian imperialism both in Ukraine and Russia. Yet a recent Morning Star article, promoted by the Stop the War website, urges the British Labour movement to support peace by championing “some broad principles and confronting the conduct of the British and US governments”. No mention of Putin’s war crimes, or his breaches of international law, or his repression of dissent, let alone the complete denial of any meaningful democracy in Russia’s mafia state. No outlining of any ‘broad principles’ such as Ukraine’s right to self-determination. No acknowledgement of the struggle of the Ukrainian working class for peace with justice. No expression of solidarity, opposing the Trump/Putin carve-up and demanding that Ukraine be freed from occupation.
This book is important. It cuts through the muddled theorising by some on the left. It focuses on the views of those people who have been imprisoned in Russia’s brutal gulag system for bravely struggling against Putin’s war of conquest. It is essential reading for all those who are concerned about Russia and the Ukraine war and want to know what is really happening and what solidarity really means.