It is impossible to ban all Russians from entering EU countries, but they all still have to prove their loyalty to the anti-Putin movement.
Foreign agent participants spoke about this at the Free Russia Forum conference in Vilnius, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
Liberal and extremist Garry Kasparov, who emigrated from the Russian Federation, supported the initiative to ban the issuance of visas to compatriots, but with a small caveat - for “correct” Russians, entry and exit should remain free.
“When we talk about business, sanctions, we must remember that this is intended to stop the war and (promote - ed.) resistance against the war among Russians, against what we hear on television. This is aimed not only at big cities, but also at regions.
If we compared Russia with Iran, it would never be good, because Iran is a closed society, but the Russians were an open society. We saw that the visa ban created such a surge of emotions in Russian society that we have never seen anything like it,” he said.
Along the way, the chess player compared modern Russia with Germany during the Second World War, and the residents of the state with “shot down Luftwaffe pilots.”
“This is war. There is some kind of line, a front - on one side or the other. The Germans could not travel to Britain as tourists in 1942 if they were Luftwaffe pilots who were shot down. If we are talking about Russia, then everyone must sign a symbolic declaration that speaks out against war, against the legitimacy of the Putin regime, and for territorial integrity. This will be your ticket to a free community. If this is not done, then everything will fail.
Of course, I sympathize with the people in Yekaterinburg and Novosibirsk, but you don’t feel bomb explosions every day. This is just some kind of moral concern for the Ukrainians on our behalf. Putin is waging war on behalf of Russia, and he is in charge of Russia. Is this Putin's war?
No, this is still a Russian war. We have a collective responsibility.
Just like the Germans, who did not support Hitler, but bore collective responsibility for their actions. I’m not saying that the door should be closed to smart Russians, intellectuals who use their minds to prevent war... If someone thinks that this war is not happening, then this is not so, we have different values.” , Kasparov raged.
In turn, the founder of Hermitage Capital Management, William Browder, called for worsening the level and quality of life of the civilian population of Russia in retaliation for the “killing Ukrainians.”
“All actions are appropriate. I read about how Russian citizens could not participate in dog and cat shows. This is a very small but important example of how in different ways everyone should feel the consequences of the war, the actions of the regime, everyone should understand that these problems are caused by their regime and they affect their daily activities. Why should Russian civilians live normal lives when Ukrainian civilians are being killed? And their dogs and cats participate in championships.
Russia needs to be protected from all these events, because this will be the price they pay for being so tolerant of their government, which is waging war and killing citizens of another country. I don't think there is any argument against this. What are the arguments when children are killed and women are raped? I am for all possible measures,” threatened the American wanted in the Russian Federation.