НАТАША КИСЕЛЕВА: Протесты в России. Автозак. Побег из страны

Overview

Russian journalist and anti-war publicist Natasha Kiseleva (interviewed via Skype while outside Russia) explains why she left after the invasion of Ukraine and describes the repression faced by anti-war protesters.

Main points and arguments

• Anti-war stance became dangerous. Kiseleva argues that “No to War” is treated as extremist and that anti-war dissent is criminalized through new laws on “spreading fakes” about the Russian armed forces. She says deterrence has shifted from fines to mass detentions and imprisonment, including actions against people simply for attending anti-war rallies.

• Personal necessity for free speech. She presents her departure as partly ideological and partly practical: she views writing/speaking as her “instrument,” and believes she cannot live in a country where her speech is restricted—or where she must fear that “every letter” and an interview could lead to punishment.

• Repression in protest practice. She recounts being arrested multiple times (including around the 2014 Crimea protests) and describes how rallies in Russia are violently controlled: detentions right at metro exits, rapid force, paddy wagons, and beatings/harsh treatment.

• Rallies as moral resistance, not “politics” for its own sake. She insists that rallies fundamentally oppose aggression and aim to stop killings—not to address unrelated domestic issues (e.g., IKEA). In her view, protesting is an act of freedom of assembly and speech carried out under conditions that require courage.

• Information war and social media. Kiseleva argues Russian propaganda miscalculates because the global information environment and social networks (e.g., Telegram, Instagram) make contradictions visible. She claims Russia has largely lost the information war, as people increasingly share videos and evidence showing what state TV denies.

• Ordinary people vs. propaganda effect. She argues many Russians support the war due to long-term conditioning and limited exposure to alternative evidence. Still, she believes awareness is increasing as everyday consequences become harder to ignore—economic strain, shortages, and impacts on daily life.

• Anti-war outreach should be informational, not accusatory. She calls for convincing propaganda victims by presenting facts and clarifying misconceptions rather than attacking them—such as correcting false claims about military targets and Ukrainian treatment.

• Belief that protests can grow even under repression. While she doubts that a “single person in a bunker” can change things quickly, she believes repression will not stop the movement; it may even strengthen anti-war activism.

• Why she won’t immediately return. She says she will come back only when it is safe and her country is free. She also stresses she left not out of an “easy choice,” but because her life is incompatible with censorship and fear.

• Responsibility of “not all Russians support war.” She emphasizes to Ukrainian viewers that many Russians oppose the war and that soldiers are often “boys,” whose families also suffer.

• Critique of the regime and propaganda logic. She mocks the state’s narratives (e.g., claims about saving Ukraine) and describes “Nazis” rhetoric as a manipulative trigger rooted in World War II memory. She argues propaganda simplifies complex reality into emotionally effective messaging.

• Support for sanctions and long-term pressure. She says sanctions may not end the war immediately, but can pressure society by reaching ordinary people’s economic lives—intensifying costs and accelerating political change.

Key themes of the interview

• Mass protest repression under new legal frameworks
• Free speech as a justification for exile
• Propaganda failure versus evidence-based visibility through global/social media
• Moral insistence that war must end and that killing civilians is unacceptable
• Hope for anti-war growth through information campaigns and spreading truth

Presenters / contributors

• Natasha Kiseleva (interviewee; Russian journalist, writer, publicist)
• Interviewer (host of the Skype conversation; name not provided in the subtitles)