Maria Mikaelyan

Ph.D. (Community of Free Russians)

Articles

Rights trampled by Putin, from the young Turbin to Ukraine

3 March 2025

Honourable Mrs. Boldrini, you have spoken about trampled rights. Unfortunately, I could never speak properly about the trampled rights of the Ukrainian people because I am not part of this people. However, believe me, I know very well what it means to have the rights of millions of people being trampled in the country where I was born – in the Russian Federation.

Tragic Russian February: from the murder of opposition politicians to the civilian casualties in Ukrainian cities

17 February 2025

February 16, 2025, was a painful day for many free Russians. For those who hope for the victory of an independent Ukraine and oppose Vladimir Putin’s regime. Yesterday marked the anniversary of the killing of Alexei Navalny, the person who changed the lives of many of us by showing through his own example that collective civic actions, even small ones, are absolutely necessary for the future of one’s country. By Maria Mikaelyan

A 15-Year-Old Russian Boy in Jail for Distributing Leaflets but No One Protests. Here Is Why.

23 July 2024

Arsenij Turbin, a 15-year-old Russian boy, was sentenced to 5 years in prison for distributing leaflets against Valdimir Putin in his neighborhood. This activity of the teenager was considered "association for the purpose of terrorism" by the judge of one of the military courts in Moscow. Russian society reacted to this sensational sentence in a now usual way: with total and deafening silence. By Maria Mikaelyan

The Legacy of the Great Mother Russia

4 September 2023

On the occasion of the Russian Youth Day, Pope Francis stated: "Do not forget your legacy. You are the heirs of the great Mother Russia". However, Russia has always been and remains to this day a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural state. Even I do consider myself not 'Russian', but 'Russian/Armenian/Jewish', precisely because of the diversity of my origins. Many people born in Russia have no intention of feeling proud of this "great empire" – an empire that has been oppressing and massacring both its neighboring populations and its own citizens for so many centuries. What does it mean for us to be "Free Russians"? It means refusing the role of "heirs of the Great Russia" and choose not to remain silent or patriotically proud while Russia is adding new blood-stained pages to its historical legacy. By Maria Mikaelyan, Community of Free Russians