I don’t know why the Russians don’t troll back and start handing out prizes to far-right, pro-gun, anti-immigrant activists like the EU does.
The main part of the speech:
…I thought to myself, well, I guess someone better run and get that ticket to Strasbourg and seize the opportunity to come and see this wonderful thing for myself. And over some time, I realised that this might actually be what the nightmare of myself and my family looks like. Me travelling to different conferences and summits, giving speeches in my dad’s name. Sometimes he’s even awarded something, but I’m the one travelling. I’m the one writing the speech and starting it with a joke while he is in jail. And I will continue travelling meanwhile reading articles about the horrible conditions my dad is being held in. It’s not like there’s much to do about it. So I travel and speak, and he continues to be held in confinement.
And this doesn’t only concern Alexei Navalny. The last year’s laureates, the Belarus opposition, are now mostly in prison. The 2010 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate died in prison. And here I asked myself today: why is it so hard to free from captivity those who are fighting for human rights? Why are they still thrown in jail, not only all over the world, but in European, geographically European countries in the 21st century?
Europe is great and almighty, the will of the European citizens is expressed by the resolutions of the members of the European Parliament and those are precise, correct and fair. Resolutions there are supported by the United Kingdom, United States, Australia and New Zealand and the whole free world. But those who are like my father, continue sitting in prison watching more and more of their allies being thrown behind bars. You know, I’ve heard this many times. And sure, I will again, maybe even in the quarters after this ceremony.
You know, they’ll say to me, “I understand why are you feeling this way. Because it concerns your family and close ones, but in the real world, however, we have to be more *pragmatic*”. And in those hallways, I’ll nod my head and say, yes, of course. What else I can say? I’m a 20 year old college student and I don’t feel very comfortable arguing with with experience and responsible *pragmatics*.
However, here today, taking advantage of the fact that I have the microphone, no one will take it away from me and I don’t have to argue with anyone personally feeling impolite. I would like to oppose that pragmatism. This is the Sakharov prize.
This is the Sakharov prize, and Andrei Sakharov was probably one of the most non pragmatic people on the planet. I don’t understand why those who advocate for pragmatic relations with the dictators can’t simply open the history books. It would be a very pragmatic act and having it done, it’s very easy to understand the inescapable political law. The pacification of dictators and tyrants never works. No matter how many people try to deceive themselves, hoping that another madmen who clings to power will behave decently in response to concessions and flirtations, it will never happen. The very essence of authoritarian power involves a constant increase in bets, an increase in aggression and the search for new enemies and those who once said, “let’s not push Lukashenko and continue the dialogue” when he was beating people up and throwing them behind bars, achieve only that now in order to sentence someone, Lukashenko has to stop a whole passenger plane.
Another thing that pragmatists don’t want to do for some reason, which urges them to remember about the expenses and economic losses, is simply to pick up a calculator and see how much their pragmatism costs, in particular to the European taxpayers. Years of flirting with Putin made it clear to him that, to increase his ratings, he can start a war. How much worse will the war with Ukraine cost to Europe? Even now, with so many news on Russian troops coming to the Ukraine border, no one’s really talking about it. No pragmatic trade corporation will recoup the share of the direct loss that will have to be incurred.
Not to mention the cost of the time of the Western politicians like yourselves have already spent on solving the problem instead of dealing with their own affairs in their own countries. One of the opposition leaders, Boris Nemtsov, is killed with shots in the back right by the Kremlin. And then comes the pragmatists and say as well, “We can’t do much about it. Let’s limit ourselves to a tough statement and then continue the conversation”. And then, they’ll kill the second, and the third, and the fourth will be killed in the centre of Berlin, and the fifth in the UK. And then they also blow up some warehouses in Europe, and then they start killing with chemical weapons. And what we know is just unsuccessful assassination attempts.
How many were successful? We already know that a real terrorist group has been created inside Putin’s special services, killing citizens of my country without a hearing or trial without justice. They were close to killing my mother. They nearly killed my father, and none will guarantee that tomorrow European politicians won’t start falling dead by simply touching a doorknob.
And now you’re already increasing the police budget. You give a lot of money to special services, spend billions on new ways to detect those toxic substances, and these are the consequences of *pragmatism*. “Don’t push it. We need to act carefully and not anger them”, says the pragmatists.
And tomorrow, dictators inspired by half measures of the West will transport thousands of people to the border of the European Union, forcing women and children to storm the fences and secretly dreaming of someone being shot or trampled in the crowd. Let pragmatists answer how much will cost to Poland, to Lithuania or to the entire European Union? They will answer to me. “What do you want? These are sovereign states. They have their own governments. Our capabilities are very limited. Are you proposing a nuclear war to free the political prisoners?” Of course, I don’t propose starting a war.
However, I will note that although it’s not successful, it has started and there are real victims and they’re using both cyber and chemical weapons. The fact that European banks frequently launder corrupted billions of Putin’s oligarchs, the yachts of Putin’s oligarchs continue being sensations on European Mediterranean, that 99 percent of top officials of Russia and Belarus directly involved in crimes are also freely allowed to travel in Europe, just like their families, are all sure signs that many of those who make decisions don’t even try to win at least the small wars in this battle.
They talk too much and think about the realm of politics, considering actions based on ideas and principles which frankly are naive and stupid. And you know what, it seems to me that the problem is that the desire to appeal to the dictators again and again, not to anger him, to ignore his crimes as long as it’s possible, is not a pragmatic approach at all.
It’s time to say it straight: **under the sign of pragmatism, there is cynicism, hypocrisy and corruption**…
This guy is a very brave individual. Gives us hope Russia could and should be different. Should belong in Europe.
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> Алескей
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I don’t know why the Russians don’t troll back and start handing out prizes to far-right, pro-gun, anti-immigrant activists like the EU does.
The main part of the speech:
…I thought to myself, well, I guess someone better run and get that ticket to Strasbourg and seize the opportunity to come and see this wonderful thing for myself. And over some time, I realised that this might actually be what the nightmare of myself and my family looks like. Me travelling to different conferences and summits, giving speeches in my dad’s name. Sometimes he’s even awarded something, but I’m the one travelling. I’m the one writing the speech and starting it with a joke while he is in jail. And I will continue travelling meanwhile reading articles about the horrible conditions my dad is being held in. It’s not like there’s much to do about it. So I travel and speak, and he continues to be held in confinement.
And this doesn’t only concern Alexei Navalny. The last year’s laureates, the Belarus opposition, are now mostly in prison. The 2010 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate died in prison. And here I asked myself today: why is it so hard to free from captivity those who are fighting for human rights? Why are they still thrown in jail, not only all over the world, but in European, geographically European countries in the 21st century?
Europe is great and almighty, the will of the European citizens is expressed by the resolutions of the members of the European Parliament and those are precise, correct and fair. Resolutions there are supported by the United Kingdom, United States, Australia and New Zealand and the whole free world. But those who are like my father, continue sitting in prison watching more and more of their allies being thrown behind bars. You know, I’ve heard this many times. And sure, I will again, maybe even in the quarters after this ceremony.
You know, they’ll say to me, “I understand why are you feeling this way. Because it concerns your family and close ones, but in the real world, however, we have to be more *pragmatic*”. And in those hallways, I’ll nod my head and say, yes, of course. What else I can say? I’m a 20 year old college student and I don’t feel very comfortable arguing with with experience and responsible *pragmatics*.
However, here today, taking advantage of the fact that I have the microphone, no one will take it away from me and I don’t have to argue with anyone personally feeling impolite. I would like to oppose that pragmatism. This is the Sakharov prize.
This is the Sakharov prize, and Andrei Sakharov was probably one of the most non pragmatic people on the planet. I don’t understand why those who advocate for pragmatic relations with the dictators can’t simply open the history books. It would be a very pragmatic act and having it done, it’s very easy to understand the inescapable political law. The pacification of dictators and tyrants never works. No matter how many people try to deceive themselves, hoping that another madmen who clings to power will behave decently in response to concessions and flirtations, it will never happen. The very essence of authoritarian power involves a constant increase in bets, an increase in aggression and the search for new enemies and those who once said, “let’s not push Lukashenko and continue the dialogue” when he was beating people up and throwing them behind bars, achieve only that now in order to sentence someone, Lukashenko has to stop a whole passenger plane.
Another thing that pragmatists don’t want to do for some reason, which urges them to remember about the expenses and economic losses, is simply to pick up a calculator and see how much their pragmatism costs, in particular to the European taxpayers. Years of flirting with Putin made it clear to him that, to increase his ratings, he can start a war. How much worse will the war with Ukraine cost to Europe? Even now, with so many news on Russian troops coming to the Ukraine border, no one’s really talking about it. No pragmatic trade corporation will recoup the share of the direct loss that will have to be incurred.
Not to mention the cost of the time of the Western politicians like yourselves have already spent on solving the problem instead of dealing with their own affairs in their own countries. One of the opposition leaders, Boris Nemtsov, is killed with shots in the back right by the Kremlin. And then comes the pragmatists and say as well, “We can’t do much about it. Let’s limit ourselves to a tough statement and then continue the conversation”. And then, they’ll kill the second, and the third, and the fourth will be killed in the centre of Berlin, and the fifth in the UK. And then they also blow up some warehouses in Europe, and then they start killing with chemical weapons. And what we know is just unsuccessful assassination attempts.
How many were successful? We already know that a real terrorist group has been created inside Putin’s special services, killing citizens of my country without a hearing or trial without justice. They were close to killing my mother. They nearly killed my father, and none will guarantee that tomorrow European politicians won’t start falling dead by simply touching a doorknob.
And now you’re already increasing the police budget. You give a lot of money to special services, spend billions on new ways to detect those toxic substances, and these are the consequences of *pragmatism*. “Don’t push it. We need to act carefully and not anger them”, says the pragmatists.
And tomorrow, dictators inspired by half measures of the West will transport thousands of people to the border of the European Union, forcing women and children to storm the fences and secretly dreaming of someone being shot or trampled in the crowd. Let pragmatists answer how much will cost to Poland, to Lithuania or to the entire European Union? They will answer to me. “What do you want? These are sovereign states. They have their own governments. Our capabilities are very limited. Are you proposing a nuclear war to free the political prisoners?” Of course, I don’t propose starting a war.
However, I will note that although it’s not successful, it has started and there are real victims and they’re using both cyber and chemical weapons. The fact that European banks frequently launder corrupted billions of Putin’s oligarchs, the yachts of Putin’s oligarchs continue being sensations on European Mediterranean, that 99 percent of top officials of Russia and Belarus directly involved in crimes are also freely allowed to travel in Europe, just like their families, are all sure signs that many of those who make decisions don’t even try to win at least the small wars in this battle.
They talk too much and think about the realm of politics, considering actions based on ideas and principles which frankly are naive and stupid. And you know what, it seems to me that the problem is that the desire to appeal to the dictators again and again, not to anger him, to ignore his crimes as long as it’s possible, is not a pragmatic approach at all.
It’s time to say it straight: **under the sign of pragmatism, there is cynicism, hypocrisy and corruption**…
This guy is a very brave individual. Gives us hope Russia could and should be different. Should belong in Europe.