He became known around the world as Russia’s only climate striker.
Now the Putin regime wants to fight back against Arsjak Makitjan, 28 – by revoking his citizenship.
– This is what Russia has turned into. A dangerous terrorist state, he says.
War and love coincided with strange timing.
On February 24, Russian violinist and climate activist Arshak Makitjan would finally marry his girlfriend Polina Oleinikova. But when they woke up in the morning, they realized that what they feared most had come true: their homeland had invaded Ukraine.
Everything had become much more dangerous in one fell swoop. At the same time: to be silent now would be unthinkable.
The party turned into a political statement.
Polina Oleinikova – also a well-known activist – wore a yellow dress and blue flowers. Arsjak wrote in large ink letters over the shirt: “Fuck the war”.
Protests grew
There was no honeymoon to speak of.
They took to the streets to unite with the thousands of protesters protesting against the war their president, Vladimir Putin, was trying to defraud them of, only a “special military operation.”
– In the beginning we were filled with a strangely hopeful feeling. It was clear that the invasion was a catastrophic mistake. We thought that Putin had betrayed so many of his old oligarch friends and that he could be killed any day, says Arsjak Makitjan over the phone.
For a few days, the demonstrations seemed to grow. The anti-war movement gathered strength.
Everything stood and weighed.
“Manipulated teenager”
Arsjak Makitjan was born in Armenia, formerly part of the Soviet Union, and came to Russia as a one-year-old. He became a citizen and trained as a violinist. In 2019, he opened his eyes to the breadth of the climate issue. He got in touch with Greta Thunberg, and after that there was no going back.
One autumn Friday, he wrote a “climate strike” in Cyrillic letters over a piece of cardboard and sat down in front of the Kremlin in Moscow.
Russia is the world’s largest country on the surface – and strongly affected by climate change. In recent years, fires in Siberia have become increasingly extreme. All the while the tundra thaws.
Still, Arsjak was left alone. IN world media he was described as Russia’s only climate striker. All the while Putin likened his role model Greta Thunberg to one “Manipulated teenager”.
And Russian oil continued to flow into the world.
And the war plans slowly took shape.
Thousands of grips
In early March 2022, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine entered its second week. The regime opposed the protests in its own country.
Arsjak and Polina were arrested, along with more than 15,000 others demonstrators.
At the same time was founded a new teamwhich meant that anyone who spread false information about the military could face 15 years in prison.
The demonstrations were emptied of people. The tone of the activists’ Telegram channels became increasingly desperate. It was clear what Russia had turned into: a pure dictatorship.
– We understood that the resistance must change form. Polina and I decided to travel abroad for a while, to breathe fresh air and not have to be afraid and think of a way to return and continue the fight, he says.
“A genocide”
They ended up in Berlin. There, everything has continued to revolve around the war. They have staged protests outside the Russian embassy and shouted slogans.
– Before the war, I still thought there could be ways to influence Putin. Now I have realized that it is not possible. And then it is my duty to call Putin what he is: a war criminal and a murderer.
Arsjak believes that the connection between the war and the climate is clear.
– This is a fossil war. It is fossil exports that finance the killing. If exports are stopped, Russia will collapse.
“People are terrified”
He has picked up the violin and played outside the Russian embassy. An Armenian show about the genocide there, a hundred years ago.
– It’s a genocide now too. Every day that this is allowed to continue, Ukrainians are murdered. And Ukrainian women are raped.
How big is the opposition to the war among the Russians now?
Bigger than many in the West think. You must not trust surveys, people are terrified to say what they think.
How can the West support the opposition in Russia?
– By helping Ukraine. Give them all the weapons they need and stop all fossil imports immediately. And support the activists who exist in every conceivable way. This is your war too. If Putin wins, there will be no peace and no freedom in Europe either.
Arsjak and Polina have been in Germany for almost three months. The idea has always been to return to Russia.
But this week came a shocking news.
Can become stateless
Authorities accuse Arsjak of obtaining Russian citizenship twenty years ago on false grounds. Now they want to withdraw it – and make him stateless.
– This is the first time they do this to a political activist. In Russia, there are millions of people with backgrounds in various former Soviet republics. This is a way to be intimidated. To force them into silence.
Next Monday, June 27, the issue will be raised in a local court in Moscow. A Russian human rights organization will be on hand to bring his case. To return now is not something to think about.
– This is what Russia has turned into. A country completely without laws. A dangerous terrorist state, says Arsjak Makitjan.