When SVT Nyheter visits Chemnitz on Monday evening, at least a thousand people participate in the demonstration, ranging from members of the nationalist Alternative for Germany party to people who have suffered financially when ties with Russia and the cheap economy have been severed.
They protest loudly against the West’s sanctions against Russia and against the military support for Ukraine.
– Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has a prehistory. I don’t want to evaluate what Russia did in connection with their entry. But the prehistory is NATO’s expansion. Now NATO stands at Russia’s door, and Russia feels threatened. One cannot simply say that Russia is the world’s great aggressor that must be frozen out. It is the double standards of the Western world, says Lutz Köhler, who usually participates in the demonstrations.
Every fifth German believes the Russian propaganda
Russia’s war has claimed thousands of civilian lives and displaced millions of Ukrainians. It has been condemned by most of the UN member states, including Germany.
Despite that, surveys show that the percentage of Germans who believe the Russian propaganda has increased since last spring. In fact, just like Lutz Köhler, every fifth German believes Russia’s explanation for the war – and in East Germany even every third, the polls show.
– I don’t care if someone says that I fell for Russian propaganda, says Lutz Köhler.
Agne also participates in the demonstration train. When asked why, she replies:
– Because Germany is going under. For the economy and the labor market. We have no industry left, it is disappearing to the USA and China. Our men hardly have work anymore.
See the full feature from Chemnitz i SVT’s Aktuell.