Russia’s president is wrong if he mistakes the silence of most of his people for tacit support
- Alexander Rodnyansky is an Oscar- and Bafta-nominated Ukrainian film-maker
On 18 May, a Moscow court ordered my arrest in absentia. In a couple of weeks I will know my sentence for the crime of “spreading disinformation” about the Russian army, which means speaking out against the war in Ukraine and telling the world about the atrocities that Russian soldiers commit in my native country. I can guess what the verdict will be – since the introduction of this penal code article, not one of the accused has been found not guilty. I can also guess my sentence, since I share the same judge as the Russian writer Dmitry Glukhovsky, who was recently sentenced to eight years for his anti-war position.
No other country in the world recognises this crime and I don’t either. I will continue to speak out against the invasion on every platform available to me. Ahead of my sentencing, I want to share a message that I feel is important.
Alexander Rodnyansky is an Oscar- and Bafta-nominated Ukrainian film-maker. His film Leviathan won the Golden Globe award for best foreign-language film in 2015
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