r/worldnews • u/DownWithAssad • 5d ago

Russia sentences 15-year-old schoolboy to 5 years for criticizing Putin regime and war against Ukraine Russia/Ukraine

https://khpg.org/en/1608813775
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u/GoodLeftUndone 5d ago

When a 15 year old is braver than an entire nation’s military and its leaders

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u/[deleted] 5d ago

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u/kowkow151 4d ago

Who? Name two. And Prigozhin doesn't count.

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u/wombatcombat123 4d ago

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suspicious_deaths_of_notable_Russians_(2022%E2%80%932024)

It's really not hard.

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u/kowkow151 4d ago

Almost all of those are businesspeople and politicians from the oil industry, not military leaders. I want someone to name two military leaders that are not Prigozhin.

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u/wombatcombat123 4d ago

I mean technically it wasn't just Prigozhin it was most of the Wagner high command.

The way he phrased it might have been incorrect but the intention and point still stands. I don't think it's controversial to say Russian military commanders would be afraid to speak out against the state considering they blew up the fucking plane of the last guy that done that, and get rid of people on a regular basis.

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u/Mavian23 4d ago

I don't think it's controversial to say Russian military commanders would be afraid to speak out against the state

We've come full circle. That's the point. The parent comment suggests this 15 year old boy is braver than his nation's military leaders.

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u/wombatcombat123 4d ago

I mean yeah, that's what I've been saying.

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u/Mavian23 4d ago

Yea but the person you were talking to was never contesting that.

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u/kowkow151 4d ago

I'm from Russia and I honestly think it's a false way of looking at how Putin works. The oil industry thing is really separate - it's just fucking weird.

The Prigozhin situation is really an exception: the guy started a fucking INSURRECTION and marched on Moscow. That's an obvious death sentence.

Military leaders aren't afraid of Putin assassinating them, that's not his method. No, it's much simpler: either they're not against the war at all, or they just enjoy the money/social status/privileges etc.

It's important to understand Putin's methods if you want to understand Russia. He doesn't rule by fear and doesn't kill people left and right. He just surrounds himself with politicians and leaders who are happy with the way things are.

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u/wombatcombat123 4d ago

I mean I can see that yeah, there's no point in murdering half your war cabinet if you don't really have too, and it's not like they are complaining, they aren't the ones fighting.

I just also don't think it's wrong to say they would be afraid to speak out if any of them did have any negative opinions on the war. I do believe if you did cause a stir with making such opinions public Putin or whoever else in the Russian government would find a way to shut you up, whether that involves murder or not.

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u/Koqcerek 4d ago

But he kills lots of people. Indirectly, but often intentionally obviously, so everyone knows what really happened.

Yeah, he doesn't do it all the time, but he desn't have to. Because of the implication

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u/Jon_Demigod 5d ago

I'd probably say naive and didn't think he'd get into trouble because he's not aware of the evil of the world yet being only 15.

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u/guiltyblow 5d ago

Growing up in Russia I am sure he got to know the evil of the world faster than many in the world

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u/Jon_Demigod 5d ago

Not when you live in a dictatorship where information and reality is suppressed. People don't know what's going on in Ukraine in places in Russia, the people are brainwashed.

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u/Esmarial 4d ago

They have access to the internet though. And curse Ukrainians for defending ourselves.

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u/Cdru123 4d ago

Having access to the internet isn't exactly a guarantee. You know how there are lot of politically deluded people in the West who only watch stuff that confirms their bias? Yeah, you have plenty of these people in Russia, combined with the fact that the government censors a lot of stuff that doesn't fit its narrative (not everybody knows about VPNs and where to find them), and that getting a sane picture of reality often requires knowing English (it's why I don't visit most Russian sites)

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u/Esmarial 4d ago

What you say is true for elderly people. Middle aged and young ones though mostly understand everything. Some of them say "I'm against war but we can't lose because then we'll be forced to pay contributions and will live worse". One woman from Moscow once told me in Facebook (banned at that time in Russia, so she definitely used VPN) "I'm against war, I didn't want it neither I sanctioned government to start it. But you Ukrainians always lie, I don't believe anything from your side is true, neither I feel empathy for you" this was few months I escaped besieged Mariupol and the conversation was regarding atrocities in Bucha...

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u/Cdru123 4d ago edited 4d ago

People are different, and you shouldn't paint nations with a wide brush. Like, I personally know a decent amount of russians who are pro-Ukraine, although part of that is that they're mostly in English-language Discord servers where most people are at least progressive or even left-wing. Plus, they don't seem to be using Russian sites anyway.

Also, as I said, this kind of shit happens with westerners, too, so there's nothing unique about Russians in this

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u/Esmarial 4d ago

Man, I'm telling you about my personal experience... I know there are normal Russians, and they say they are in minority there...

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u/Cdru123 4d ago edited 4d ago

Alright, sorry. Just, I often end up feeling on the defensive due to some comments that I see from others, and it causes me to make assumptions

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u/SeniorMiddleJunior 5d ago

Is this fact or conjecture? Asking because I don't know, not to doubt you.

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u/Jon_Demigod 5d ago

I think there actually is because we take our access to info for granted. Some Russians live in 1900s conditions still, I think. Like, world war 2 era style poor and God knows what they're fed over their shitty tvs with only the news as their only access to the outside world. But on a less absurd page, I'm pretty sure the common Russian hates Ukrainians based on some interviews. God knows though, how can anyone be sure what's real anymore.

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u/CloqueWise 5d ago

Both, information is suppressed by the hands of both the Russian government and the west. So the Russians who get all their information from Russian news sources are a bit brainwashed. But anyone who is on the internet can easily find information counter to what the government tells them and tend to be more liberal. From my experience, most Russians are against the war and fairly liberal. But just as there are people completely brainwashed by either CNN or Fox News in the states, there are those brainwashed by similar programs in Russia.

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u/[deleted] 5d ago

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u/CloqueWise 5d ago

I stated the source... My experience. I don't have a link to a spreadsheet of all the Russians I know and their political tendencies, sorry

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u/[deleted] 5d ago

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u/CloqueWise 5d ago

I mean, you asked for a source when I already stated my source.... However, I do think my experience is somewhat credible here. I have lived in Russia the past 3 years so I interact with Russians daily. I've spoken to hundreds over the past few years and have a good feel for how many think and feel about the situation. And one thing is for sure, the war is not popular with the average Russian, very few agree with it

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u/SeniorMiddleJunior 4d ago

There is nothing wrong with anecdotes as long as they're properly qualified, which this one was. If somebody reads "in my experience" and takes it as a generalization, that's on the reader. 

I appreciate their anecdote. I'm not about to go tell people "ackshually Russians are liberal" based on it, but I'm tucking it away alongside all the other opinions I read so that I can form my own reasonable conclusions.

In my experience, most Russians are super conservative and actually support the war. See?

The difference is that you're clearly saying that to be contrarian, so I can immediately disregard it. I believe the other person was speaking truthfully from their experience.

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u/Cdru123 4d ago

I guess it depends on where you live and in what circles you move in. My personal impression is that most people are apathetic, and there's a mostly-equal split between the pro-war and the anti-war people (with the former being louder for obvious reasons)

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u/GoodLeftUndone 5d ago

Naive isn’t wrong either. You can be more than one thing.

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u/CurrencyFit7659 4d ago

Are you Russian? Let me guess, you don't even speak Russian and know maybe 2 cities? I'm sure he knew what he was doing Like majority of people who are imprisoned right now. We're not some privileged western kids like you're. I was 5yo when I saw soldiers being decapitated. That's our reality. I was 7yo when our independent media started to be destroyed and when putin came to power. And I knew that he was a bad guy. Because we grow up fast, you know. When we watch American movies it looked like fairytale - your life is so easy and privileged.

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u/[deleted] 4d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/CurrencyFit7659 4d ago

Thank you, it always makes me feel better to see people like you outside of Russia. Funny enough, I can recognise people like you everywhere. If you were born in Russia you'd be putin supporter

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u/Intelligent_Bad6942 5d ago

Nothing happened in Rostov on June 24th, 2023.

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u/AnotherDay96 5d ago edited 4d ago

Right, I put a lot of this on the people, they can stop it if they want. In America this happened in 1776'ish.

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u/Telefragg 4d ago

Sure, that's what happened in Belarus. Or Hong Kong. Or Iran. Or Myanmar. So much stopping these days, just grab a can of Pepsi and tell the dictators to stop - easy.

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u/Anuclano 4d ago

The entire nation still hopes to annex territories.

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u/[deleted] 5d ago

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u/TeddyBridgecollapse 5d ago

Well thank christ for all the people throughout history who were dumb enough to challenge their autocratic, repressive governments, if dumb is the best word you can think of for this scenario.

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u/GibsonMaestro 5d ago

He threw his life away for nothing. What world you call it? Sure, brave works. But he’s more dumb than he is brave. His act was complete pointless and useless and now his life is ruined

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u/TeddyBridgecollapse 5d ago

This attitude is exactly why no Russian born in the last thirty years has the slightest fucking chance of political self-agency, and I reiterate everything I said in my comment above. Meaningful change in the face of oppression never comes without sacrifice.

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u/GibsonMaestro 5d ago

Sacrifice the adults, first. This is a child.

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u/PezRystar 5d ago

There is story after story out there of teenagers standing up and giving their lives against the Nazi regime. Had you been in their place, we'd be having this conversation in German.

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u/Broganator 5d ago

German teenagers didn't bring down the Nazi regime lol

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u/Kiwi_In_Europe 5d ago

The French resistance had members as young as 14, women and young girls, elderly etc. Stop justifying your complete lack of anything that resembles a spine

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u/PezRystar 5d ago

That's like saying American 18 yr olds didn't bring down the Nazi regime, as well as shows a complete ignorance of history. Resistance fighters held the line until America was forced into the war and the allied forces coalesced. There are countless stories of the teenagers among those freedom fighters. Every one that fought was important in their own way and only a complete fucking moron would call them dumb for doing so.

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u/GibsonMaestro 5d ago

They were actively being rounded up and sent to their death. It’s a very different situation, unless we’re talking about something different.

This kid just ruined his life over a futile act of aggression.

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u/PezRystar 5d ago edited 5d ago

You don't think young Russian men are currently being rounded up and sent to their death?

Edit: Also you believe espousing peace=act of aggression, fucking somehow.

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u/Some-Hurry8487 5d ago

People can be dumb and brave. They just don’t tend to live very long. Sadly this kid will most likely never get the chance to learn. Probably gonna end up dead in Ukraine in a year or so.

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u/GibsonMaestro 5d ago

Yep. Complete waste of his life. And for what? Poor kid.

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u/EntrepreneurOk6166 5d ago

He was convicted for joining the FRL, an neo nazi terror group.

So brave.

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u/GoodLeftUndone 5d ago

Oof. Thats a little on the super naughty side

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u/EntrepreneurOk6166 5d ago

Not saying it's true, but that was the charge - obviously, since "criticizing the war" gets you a fine and maybe a couple months, certainly for a 15 year old.

FRL is simply the Russian Imperial Movement that's been armed by Ukraine. And RIM are ultra nationalist white supremacists, explicitly so.