Der Spiegel: “How the Kursk invasion divides Russians”

Journalist Mikhail Zygar wrote an article in Der Spiegel about how the Ukrainian army's advance in the Kursk region has deepened the rift between Russians – those who left the country and those who stayed. And it has also caused a rift within Russian liberals.

While many Russians, opponents of Putin who live abroad, actively support the offensive of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, inside the Russian Federation they are condemned even by those who previously criticized the Kremlin. Zygar cited the example of football player Alexander Aliyev (born in Russia, his parents live in Kursk, and he played for Dynamo Kyiv and now lives in Ukraine), who recently called on the Ukrainian Armed Forces to kill civilians in the Kursk region.

“I want to ask the guys who are on the front lines, who are advancing in the Kursk region: guys, the most important thing is that you take care of yourselves, that you move forward, that you kill this filth, that you kill civilians, as they do with our women, with our innocent children,” Aliyev said.

As Zygar says, Aliyev is now the main anti-hero of recent days for Russian TV channels. He gives another example – journalist Ksenia Sobchak, who lives in Russia and is considered one of the brightest representatives of the liberal camp, who previously did not take a pro-war position and did not support the actions of the Russian Federation in Ukraine. But after the Ukrainian Armed Forces' offensive in the Kursk region, she wrote in her blog: “Yes, you can be against the war, but when military actions are taking place on Russian territory, you no longer have a choice: either you are on the side of your country, or you are not. These are the cards, and there can be no cooperation – even journalistic – with the Ukrainian army. It is the enemy. We did not hand over these cards, and many did not want to play them, but now it does not matter.”

“This point of view is a variation of the position common in Russia: 'We shouldn't have started this war, but since we did, we need to win it.' I often hear this point of view from dialogue partners in Moscow,” writes Zygar.

According to him, some representatives of the Russian opposition have also begun to defend this position. For example, politician Lev Shlosberg, one of the leaders of the liberal party “Yabloko”, criticized those who welcome the offensive of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Kursk region.

“It turns out that there are people who think, write and speak Russian, but are happy about the arrival of military action in the Kursk region, the casualties among soldiers and civilians. The most talented representatives of this group are already measuring the distance between the Kursk region and Moscow in kilometers and hours. Apparently, they hope to return to Russia with foreign tanks. Very strange people… The responsible opposition is against the government, but not against the people, against the political class, but not against the society of its country,” he wrote.

“Shlosberg was immediately criticized by many of his colleagues. In their opinion, he takes this position for only one reason: because he remains in Russia and is afraid,” Zygar writes. However, he notes that most politicians and journalists living outside of Russia are silent regarding their position on the offensive in the Kursk region. “They realize that they can lose their audience in Russia with their harsh statements,” the article says.

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