In Vilnius, Russia’s New Dissidents Cultivate Hope for a Putin-Free Russia

2023-05-30 22:44:26

Demonstration of Russian opponents to the war in Ukraine, on the square of the cathedral of Vilnius (Lithuania), February 25. Darius Mataitis/Scanpix Baltics via Reuters Conn

REPORT – Russian activists and opponents lead the battle on the web from neighboring Lithuania, between doubts and hopes.

Special Envoy to Vilnius

Almost a year since Anastasya Chevtchenko has been at Vilniusbut this beautiful, energetic blond woman with a turned-up nose and a gaze drowned in a sadness that does not pass, says that all this time she has not “unpacked» and that she only dreams of one thing: to leave again. “I have the feeling that this is the case for many Russian emigrants here., declares this human rights activist, sitting at a table on the terrace of a Lithuanian restaurant, in the heart of the old city illuminated by the sun. “We are all people waiting for the time to come home to rebuildinsists this former director of the local branch of the organization Open Russia (sponsored and created by Mikhail Khodorkovsky) in Rostov-on-the-Don, even if her children, one enrolled in school and the other at university have settled in perfectly and have no intention of returning to Russia.

Anastasya says she oscillates between doubt about her country’s ability to change and…

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