Partisan initiatives in Russia and Russian units fighting on the side of Ukraine finally have the support of their fellow citizens – the Free Russia Forum has recognized armed resistance in its resolution.
The Free Russia Forum is a platform founded by Garry Kasparov in 2016, with a clear anti-imperialist focus emphasizing the necessity of the Russian Federation’s dissolution into a larger number of independent states.
The resolution is the outcome of the Forum’s fifth anti-war conference, which took place on October 1–2 of this year in Tallinn, Estonia. The Congress of People’s Deputies – a shadow Russian parliament composed of former elected representatives of the people in the Russian Federation – also participated.
To the Western world, it might seem that such an act generates no significant change.
However, for the Russian volunteers in Ukraine and active partisans themselves, it means a great deal – hope for support and publicity from the Russian emigration, thereby increasing the chances of raising funds for activities and equipment – and last but not least, a greater chance that they will not be prosecuted for their efforts to overthrow the regime.
Furthermore, it is another much-needed slap in the face to propaganda, which heavily relies on “violence and extremism” of partisans and “treason and terrorism” of volunteers in Ukraine.
From the resolution:
War dictates its own rules, including the rules of political struggle. What was considered unacceptable in peacetime is now becoming acceptable, even necessary. We call on all our supporters to prioritize assistance to the growing volunteer forces of Russian citizens fighting against Putinism, and to Russian volunteers at the front.
We support the armed struggle of the Armed Forces of Ukraine against the occupiers – both in the form of open military confrontation on the battlefield and in the form of sabotage work in the occupied Ukrainian territories and the territories of the Russian Federation. Furthermore, we recognize all forms of violent resistance to Putinism by Russians themselves who choose to take this path, provided it is not directed against the civilian population.
