Yevgeniya Chirikova is well known in Russia and abroad for her environmental activism. More than a decade ago, she led the grassroots movement to defend Khimki Forest, one of the oldest centuries-old forests in Moscow, facing threats, intimidation and arrests. Today, forced into exile, she has shifted her focus to human rights, documenting war crimes and exposing the machinery of repression in the territories illegally occupied by Russia in Ukraine. She is the co-founder of Activatica, a collective that supports grassroots activism and produces investigative media. In recent years, Activatica has been documenting the fate of Ukrainian civilians kidnapped by Russian forces, many of whom disappeared into a system of torture and detention reminiscent of the darkest chapters of the twentieth century.
We met Chirikova at the Milan Garden of the Righteous a few minutes before the screening of Prisoners – Part 1: Fates, a documentary produced by Activatica. The film gives voice to the families of Ukrainian civilians who vanished after being detained in the occupied territories, shining a light on the system of terror imposed by Russian security forces. After the screening, a discussion moderated by Maria Mikaelyan (Community of Free Russians) - who supported Gariwo Foundation and Montagnetta Live with the organization of the event – was held.
The evening carried a particular resonance. There is an invisible thread linking the Milan Garden of the Righteous to the stories told in the documentary: the struggle for dignity, the resistance against oppression and the courage to remember and bear witness. In the same space where the memory of past is preserved, the voices of today’s activists reminded the audience that the fight against tyranny is not confined to history books. Through cinema, testimony and dialogue, the Garden once again became what it was meant to be: a living place of conscience, where memory fuels responsibility for the present.
When you first began defending Khimki Forest, you faced threats, arrest and intimidation. Looking back, how did those experiences shape your understanding of political repression in Russia?
When I started my activity as an environmentalist, I was very naïve. I was sure that my country was normal, ordinary, maybe like Poland but with some problems. But over time I realized that unfortunately it was not true. Now, when my team is organizing investigations about terror in the occupied territories of Ukraine after Russia’s aggressive invasion, I understand that my country is really a monster, destroying normal life and democracy. At this moment I realized that we, Russian activists, have a choice. My choice is to support Ukraine, to support the Ukrainian army, to organize investigations and share information about the occupied territories. To share information about the crimes of Russian soldiers, about the system of terror, about the FSB (Federal'naja služba bezopasnosti, the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation, ed.) that kidnaps ordinary peaceful Ukrainian citizens, tortures them, and sends them to concentration camps. Without any reason, only because they are Ukrainians. For me, this is a new challenge. I believe that thanks to Ukraine’s victory, it will be possible to liberate Ukrainian territory from Russian soldiers, and thanks to that, it will be possible to change Putin’s regime inside Russia. Only through Ukraine’s victory it will be possible, because unfortunately, at this moment, Russia is a real dictatorship.
In 2012 you received the Goldman Environmental Prize. What role do international awards like the Goldman play for movements facing repression in Russia? How important are those prizes?
It was a very important moment in my life. Before that, I had many problems with Russian police, the prosecutor’s office, and with violence from Russian authorities. This prize gave me the chance to organize Activatica, a media platform for Russian grassroots activists. It was an incredible moment because I met many environmental activists from around the world, and I felt I was not alone. There were people like me in Africa, in China, defending their rights. It was an incredible experience, and thanks to that, I realized I had a chance to organize real media activism. The prize also included some money, and thanks to that I was able to start building independent media. Over time, we became a real media platform, and now Activatica produces movies about Ukrainian civilian prisoners. Our film Prisoners – Part 2: System of Terror was screened in the European Parliament on July 1 this year, and it was a huge shock for Members of Parliament. On July 9 they immediately adopted a special resolution regarding the occupied territories.
In your view, how important are screenings abroad to raise awareness about what is happening today in Russia? For example, how important is it to screen your movie here in Italy?
It’s very important for the world. I hope that people in Italy understand what is happening under occupation, the scale of this system of terror. At this moment, Putin’s regime has organized a real system of terror against ordinary Ukrainians in occupied territories, kidnapping thousands of ordinary people and sending them to concentration camps. We have already seen this with concentration camps and the system of terror during the Chechen wars. I know that the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB) kidnapped completely ordinary Chechen citizens, tortured them and killed thousands. I am really afraid we now have the same situation in the occupied territories of Ukraine. At this moment, my mission is to explain this to European civil society. Thanks to that, it is possible to organize real policies to support Ukraine and the Ukrainian army. I really believe that thanks to our movies, it is possible to create real support for Ukraine and liberate the occupied territories, because only in this way we can stop this horror. Right now, we are sitting together in a beautiful place, in a nice park in Milan, but at the same time I know that Russian security forces are kidnapping someone in the occupied territories and sending them to a concentration camp. We, in the free world, have many opportunities to support Ukraine and to stop this disgusting terror.
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Photo Credit: Activatica
