Russian opposition activist, blogger, and formerly licensed lawyer Yuri Alexeyev (known as Hobbit Hangman) was in front of the Russian Embassy in Armenia on June 22. Aravot asked him what he was doing and what made him come to the embassy.
“I am a Russian citizen. My being Russian can not be doubted. I have always lived in Russia. I did not intend to leave there. I criticized Putin because I did not think that he was a good person. I thought he would eventually bring trouble to Russia. And so it happened. Russia is in big trouble today. Russia attacked neighboring Ukraine, which is absolutely unacceptable,” our interlocutor said.
According to Yuri Alexeyev, “Those who criticize Putin in Russia are forced to flee because there is very serious repression in Russia. In fact, it is not the first decade that repressions are taking place in Russia, but since the beginning of the war on February 24, they have become so intense that only the bravest remained in Russia. I, for example, am less courageous; people like me think that our efforts abroad are more effective, so we had to run away. That’s how I came to Armenia. What am I doing? I am taking Putin out of Armenia because I see that a very large number of people in Armenia support Putin. We are talking about about 50% of politically active people.”
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According to Alexeyev’s analysis, some Armenians who have an opinion about the Russian president, in their turn, are convinced that he is bad, or think that if there is no Russia, Armenia will not exist․ “It is absolute stupidity. No nation should think like that. No nation should think that its existence depends on something external. The Armenian nation must think that Armenia exists and develops only due to itself.” In response to the question of if he is afraid of persecution, Yuri Alexeyev answered, “I can be careful, but the Armenian nation is behind me.
The Armenian nation has now developed such a level of democracy and human rights that I hope the Armenian nation will protect me.” The blogger reported that he also “clashed” with Putin’s supporters in Armenia. Someone approached him and complained about why he was protesting such a thing, and last week a citizen tore his poster and appealed to the police. “They seem to be Putin’s agents in Armenia.”
P.S. Examining Hobbit’s YouTube channel, we found out that he left Russia in April. Before that, he had given up material goods and moved to a plot of land to live in minimal living conditions. He took care of a rabbit, actively ran his blog, distributed leaflets with political content, and spoke about Russia’s problems, for which he was one day fined. In March of this year, he placed a poster with the words “No to War” on his plot. The city court considers it an “unauthorized public event” and sentences him to 15 days in prison. The superior federal court reduced the sentence to six days. The activist had to write his appeal on toilet paper because the law enforcement officers refused to provide him with ordinary paper.
Luiza Sukiasyan
