“This war is, above all, a war against freedom”. What political prisoner Alexei Gorinov was able to say in court—and what he wasn’t

What Alexei Gorinov said in court

For the fourth year, my country has been waging a costly and senseless war...

Judge Boris Kozhevnikov interrupted Gorinov right away, but the political prisoner carried on:

Senseless, because there is no rational justification for seizing and annexing foreign territories, for destroying a neighbouring country’s infrastructure and homes, for killing its men, women, parents, and children—for tearing apart peaceful lives across vast spaces. The stated pretext, however, is brotherly assistance to the local population.

Meanwhile, our own compatriots are being killed or left disabled. And we still do not know the full scale of these losses.

Do we not have enough land? Have we not lost enough people in the two great wars of the 20th century? In the Civil War? In Afghanistan? In the two Chechen wars? In all the other military conflicts our country has took part it? How many would truly answer “no” to these questions?

Our government, preoccupied with Russia’s declining birth rate, has resorted to desperate measures—lecturing people on who, when, and how they should have children. The fundamental values of freedom, democracy, and inalienable human rights have been replaced with rhetoric about so-called “family values.” But these values are immediately betrayed: parents lose their children to war, wives and families are left without their husbands and fathers, taken away for the front, or they return home disabled. Families are torn apart when one member says something the authorities dislike and ends up behind bars. And in the near future, many of today’s surviving “new heroes” will find themselves needed by no one but themselves.

Wouldn’t it be better for the authorities to focus on preserving our people—ensuring, above all, their freedom and security, giving them confidence in a peaceful future?

But no! Instead, they have devised a cynical system of moral corruption—luring people into killing their fellow human beings, or becoming complicit in killing, for money. The targets of war propaganda and recruitment efforts are our most vulnerable citizens: the socially disadvantaged, the poor, those who, sadly, have not found a more dignified purpose in life—or simply those who are naturally aggressive.

Judge Kozhevnikov interrupted Gorinov again. “Such speeches in court debates are irrelevant to the case. In case of repetition of such actions, we will be forced to deprive you of the right to speak,” he said.

“May I speak?” Gorinov asked.

“We are listening to you.”

“Please do not interrupt me.”

“Alexei Alexandrovich, don’t force us to resort to extreme measures. It’s enough that you are already in this position now. I won’t interrupt you again.”

Gorinov continued to read out his speech.

But even that is not enough. The height of cynicism—its most grotesque form—is sending prisoners to war, along with those under investigation, suspects, and defendants, even those accused of the most serious crimes. These are the people being turned into assault troops. Those who have committed crimes are given weapons, promised large sums of money and total immunity, and then sent out to kill.

But this is blood money. It will bring no happiness. It is tainted with the blood of our long-suffering neighbours—people just like us, people with whom we once shared a country. Our relatives and friends, our classmates and colleagues. Our ancestors once fought side by side to defend our common homeland.

This war is, above all, a war against freedom—and therefore against life itself, against its highest evolutionary form. Because freedom is the foundation of life. It is life itself. And together with love for one’s neighbour, it forms the core of Christian morality.

Our government has strangled freedom in our country: it has taken away our freedom of speech, our freedom of assembly, our right to free and fair elections. Guaranteeing fundamental human rights and freedoms has long ceased to be a priority in its domestic policy. Instead, its focus is on preserving power in its current form indefinitely—imposing its own narrow worldview on society, stifling anything that is living, free, human.

The steady erosion of freedom, culminating in its complete destruction, happened gradually—step by step. We barely had time to understand what freedom even meant. And now, having crushed it within its own borders, our government has set out to destroy it in a neighbouring country—where we arrived with weapons and began taking lives.

Any resistance from those defending their homeland is branded terrorism. Their armed forces—their defenders—are labelled militants, nationalists, Nazis, fascists, or simply filth.

In Russia, for now, we still hear…

What Alexei Gorinov wasn’t able to say in court

Judge Boris Kozhevnikov interrupted Gorinov at this point and said he is denying him the right to speak further: “You say things that could be grounds for bringing you in... The court will now retire to deliberate for the decision.” But the full text of Gorinov’s closing statement was made public by his supporters. Here is how the political prisoner was going to finish his speech.

In Russia, for now, we still hear the voices of those who loudly approve. Others—people of conscience—are silent. Not because they agree with this madness, but because they have been forcibly silenced, unable even to discuss among themselves what the authorities are doing. Speaking out could cost them their freedom. They risk being charged with “discrediting” the Armed Forces or “justifying terrorism.” And the sentences they face—handed down to people who have not killed, robbed, or harmed anyone—are on a scale unseen since Stalin’s time. My case is proof for the entire world to see.

What kind of twisted mind does it take to invent such laws? To declare compassionate, conscientious citizens “foreign agents,” to strip them of their constitutional rights, to prosecute them for refusing to accept this label, to put them on terrorist and extremist watchlists? It is a disgrace—an absolute disgrace to the leadership of a great country.

And yet, no power on earth can strip people of their right to a conscience—unless they themselves surrender the privilege of remaining human and acting upon it. One day, they will speak openly about what they think of this shameful war. But by then, it will be too late. They will be speaking to the backs of those who made the decision—or helped make the decision—to invade a neighbouring country, to wage this war, to propagandise it, to persecute and prosecute those who stood for peace. This is the course history always takes. And this time will be no different.

For now, I must speak on behalf of my fellow citizens. As Dante wrote: “Let not fear rule over reason.”

The real terrorists are those who started this criminal war, this bloody massacre that has left hundreds of thousands dead or maimed on both sides. The true apologists for terrorism are the propagandists of this war. They are the ones who should stand trial—not ordinary people, not powerless citizens, not my dear fellow countrymen who are persecuted for speaking of peace, for opposing war, who, like me, feel only horror at what is happening and are trying to make sense of it all.

Freedom for them. And peace for all of us!