🇷🇺 РУССКОЯЗЫЧНАЯ ВЕРСИЯ | 🇷🇺 RUSSIAN-LANGUAGE VERSION
Foreword
Putin’s regime is not Russia. It has never been Russia. And it will never be Russia.
Mass awareness of this fact is one of the major threats to Kremlin usurpers. They realize it. Hence their constant measures to create the illusion of «public support,» which they do not have. Hence their constant use of national symbols and historical heritage of my country, which do not belong to them. Hence their constant efforts to cover as many people as possible in their crimes and blood through oil money, torture, imprisonment, and literal slavery.
The majority of Russians do not support Vladimir Putin and his regime. The absolute majority of Russians do not want military conflicts unleashed by criminals who usurped power. I state this as a Russian man. A country and a state are two completely different things. The Russian opposition’s task is to never forget these truths, to share them with as many audiences as possible in Russia and elsewhere, and to work tirelessly to build a strong Russian civil society at home and abroad.
Alexei Navalny understood these truths better than anyone else in the public sphere, and he used them for the good of his country. Hence his enormous support among his compatriots of all ages. Hence the Putin regime’s transformation of his life into endless torture. Hence the attempt to kill him with the «Novichok» chemical weapon in August 2020, after which Navalny miraculously survived. Hence Navalny’s indefinite imprisonment and the creation of unbearable conditions behind bars. Hence the completed murder of Alexei Navalny, who was tortured sadistically in February 2024.
It was Alexei Navalny’s public work that became the turning point for why I started to engage in my public activities for the benefit of my country, my civil society, and my compatriots back in 2017, when I returned to my home city, Samara, from Saint Petersburg. And even though Alexei Navalny is no longer with us, his ideas and struggle will live on — and they will surely outlive Vladimir Putin and his criminal regime.
On January 21, 2024, I was one of the two organizers of the «Russia Without Putin» protest in Philadelphia (USA), as well as a speaker at the event. This protest was one of the most successful and visible Russian civil society events of all time in Philadelphia, drawing the attention and support of both tourists and residents of the city.
Below is the text of my address to the protesters, which I present without cuts. Initially, I had plans to share a completely different speech. But when I arrived before the start of the protest and heard the russophobia and anger that many of the protesters were uttering towards their own compatriots, the hypocrisy, nastiness, and meanness I heard shocked me. I had to construct a completely different speech right as I was speaking, without any preparation.
This is my new work, which is devoted to the important truth. Putin’s regime is not Russia. It has never been Russia. And it will never be Russia.
My Address To The Protesters
Thank you! Give yourselves a round of applause. You guys are great! I am very, very happy and grateful to you for joining the protest. You had thousands of reasons for not coming here; you could just say, «Why should I do this? It’s not going to change anything, and it’s not going to lead anywhere.» But you came here. It’s freaking cold, it’s freaking uncomfortable — but you came, so give yourselves a round of applause and a shout-out before we get started. You guys are great!
Actually, I’m very nervous. I knew yesterday that I would speak to you. Many of you I know personally — many of you I have helped here. My name is Vlad Dorokhin. I am a Russian American. I have been living in Philadelphia for four and a half years, and I didn’t move here because I wanted to come to the United States no matter what. I was interested in the United States, but I always considered Russia to be my home. I moved here because the Federal Security Service started looking for me for my political activities. The thing is that since 2017, I have been one of the representatives of Navalny’s headquarters in Samara, in the Volga region. And when we organized a series of protests, and when they tried to kick me out of the university for debating with Zhirinovsky, when I started to be shown on TV, I was noticed by the Federal Security Services. And I had to move here. It’s not that I’m very sad, but I still miss Russia very much.
Why am I saying all this?
I know that these are very difficult times for all of us. Very difficult times have come for our country — very hard, very bloody times. Very difficult, bloody, and hard times have come for our neighbors too: for Belarus, especially for Ukraine. And we have a thousand reasons to say to ourselves, «What’s the point? We are… Look, it was our country that attacked Ukraine, right? It was our country that invaded. Why should we unite? What’s the point of all this?»
I can tell you why.
Because I am convinced — and I am convinced that I am right — that the government, Putin’s regime, and our country, Russia, are two completely different things. The homeland, as Yuri Shevchuk said, is not the president’s ass. It’s the people. It’s our grandmothers. It’s our culture. It’s our heritage. It’s our families. It’s the people who matter to us. It’s our country. And we have an obligation to fight for it, because if we don’t fight for our country, if we don’t fight for our people, if we don’t fight for the place we live in — and that includes Russia as well as the United States of America — there will be ones who will reach all the dissenting people that we haven’t worked with. They will reach the people who have doubts, and they will turn them to their side. I am convinced that Russians, Ukrainians, and Belarusians are just like Americans, like Mexicans, like any other people. We have the same problems — because, for God’s sake, we are the same ordinary people with our own psychological problems. With our ups and our downs.
I am convinced that a Russian man, Russians in general are really lacking in self-respect — just like an average person. They lack a sense of mutual help, a sense of justice. I think most of you have moved from Russia only recently, as I have. We are well aware of the actions taking place there. We know very well the level of repression that Putin’s regime has imposed against us, against our loved ones, and against our citizens. We are well aware of the act that led to Sasha Skochilenko’s imprisonment. She was just changing price tags — and she was imprisoned for eight years! This is the level of repression we are dealing with. Do you think people can feel safe, fully spread their wings, and help each other when there is such a level of cruelty, violence, and repression? Of course not.
We have two options.
We can either continue as it was – we can say, «Why should we do this? We’re not going to accomplish anything. And look at us —we are in Philadelphia! It’s not even — I don’t know — it’s not even New York, it’s not even Armenia! It’s so far away! Why are we even gathering? More than that, it’s cold. Why? It’s not going to change anything. Brighton Beach is still Brighton Beach! The North East is still the North East!»
But we also have a second option.
We can finally break this system. Because we are able, like any other people, to unite, to help each other, and to distinguish between Putin’s state and our country Russia. As you can see, we brought tricolors, which are the national flags of 1991. The flags of Russia as a country. I am convinced that it is necessary to fight for our national symbols that do not belong to Putin’s regime — because if we do not fight for our national heritage, Putin’s regime will definitely take it. It will take everything away from us if we don’t fight!
And you know what? Nobody likes weak people. Weak people are taken advantage of. They’re disliked. They’re taken advantage of. At first, they can be indulged, indulged again — and then they can be thrown out, and that’s it! We have two options: we can remain weak, a weak country, a weak civil society. We can apologize endlessly, we can take the blame for things we had nothing to do with. Or we can finally become a strong civil society — and by «strong», we don’t mean that we take away other people’s territories, that we kill people. There is no justification for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — but maybe some of you will raise your hands, maybe some of you will speak up, maybe some of you will tell us you voted for this invasion?
…
That’s what I thought. Because we didn’t take part in this invasion. It’s immoral, it’s disastrous, it’s indefensible, it’s inhumane — but we didn’t make that decision.
However, it is in our power to make sure that we help both our Russian civil society and our neighbors. Our Belarusians, Ukrainians, who need our support — and I bow and thank each of you who do so. I think it is very important.
Nobody likes weak people, as I said. So we have two options. Either we finally unite and break this inhumane system… Because that’s what Putin’s regime is afraid of. It’s afraid of us uniting. It’s afraid of us finally being strong. Finally united. And it’s afraid of us finally ignoring this fake, vile Putin’s power, which divides and conquers. Which will divide and conquer until the end of time — because that’s the strategy they’re using. That’s what they’re excelling at. But that’s also something they’re only strong at. They don’t stand a freaking chance against true unification. They won’t stand up to it.
And Putin’s regime will soon… No, I don’t know when. I’m not going to lie. I don’t know when it will end. I don’t know when this war will end. I’m sure you don’t know when it will end, either. But it’s in our power… We can just talk, as we always do, that «There’s the North East, there’s Brighton Beach, so what’s the point of all this? Maybe we should leave it as it is? Maybe it’s better to deal with the Americans?» — or we can break that. And then, when the window of opportunity opens (and it will definitely open), we will take advantage of it.
And one last thing. I’m absolutely convinced that we can… we can give up. We can do nothing. Or we can believe that we’re not capable at all. «We live in Philadelphia. What does that have to do with Moscow, the Kremlin, Putin’s regime? We’re not going to make it!» We can think along those lines. However, it will only mean that we will be the ones who will fail. Our brothers, our sons, daughters — the next generation will succeed. And if we continue to think in that direction, they will be the ones to ask us, «Why? You had a chance! Why didn’t you take it?»
If we simply forget about our fellow citizens who did not have the opportunity to leave… You know the situation in Russia very well. So many people have sick mothers, fathers. They need to look after them. Not everyone could manage to get out as we did. We should not separate ourselves from them, either. We must stand in solidarity with the peaceful people who are waiting for some action from us. They want to see us lead by example — because we have a lot more opportunities to do something. We have much more freedom compared to the way it is in Russia. If we separate ourselves from them, if we oppose ourselves to our fellow citizens who stayed there, if we don’t fight for national symbols, then the next generation of people — and, in five years from now, even this generation of people who live in Russia — will say to us, «What the hell did you do? Why did you just distance yourself from us when you had the chance?»
So in conclusion, I want to emphasize that we have two options. Either we will continue to be weak — and no one likes weak people, everyone will take advantage of the weak, and we will not help anyone by that. Or we will finally become, my dear Russians and people from other close countries and cultures — or we will finally become the civil society that we have all dreamed of for a long time. We will become strong. And we will finally transform our dear country into a place that doesn’t expand its territories. One that doesn’t kill its neighbors or attack people. Which will finally be built on the principles of freedom, brotherhood, and mutual aid.
One for all!
— All for one!
One for all!
— All for one!
One for all!
— All for one!
You guys are great, I am proud of you! If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to come to me: I will give my time to everyone. I am enormously grateful to you! You guys are great!
Ukraine will be free! Belarus will be free! And our Motherland — Russia — will be free!
🇷🇺 РУССКОЯЗЫЧНАЯ ВЕРСИЯ | 🇷🇺 RUSSIAN-LANGUAGE VERSION
References
- The first background music in the video (Scott Buckley — The Long Dark) is licensed under CC BY 4.0
- The second background music in the video (MaxKoMusic — Pandemia) is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
