INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
host countries.The Moscow Times has translated his message and published it below.To Petr Pavel, President of the Czech RepublicDear Mr
President:My name is Ilya Yashin, an opposition politician in Russia
I am writing you from prison, where I have been confined for the last year
Putin's court sentenced me to eight-and-a-half years in prison for my statements against the war
This has become a common practice in our country: hundreds of students, workers, journalists, teachers and other citizens who speak out
against the war on Ukraine have been put behind bars
President, you became an unwitting participant in a discussion I had with my cellmates
They are different people, of different ages, with different experiences
My life choices, my openness and my refusal to emigrate surprise many of them
Sometimes our conversations remind me of the meetings with voters I used to hold regularly when I headed a Moscow district
I have always tried to get one simple message across to both my voters and my cellmates: Russia can be different
We are not doomed to live under a dictatorship
We can live in dignity and peace, and European values are in the interests of the Russian people
I tell them how Germany went from the darkness of Nazism to democracy, and Hitler was replaced by the anti-fascist Konrad Adenauer
highly respect, whom I consider to be a great humanist
Some may say that there is no point to these conversations
For example, among my fellow inmates was an army petty officer who had recently fought in Ukraine
When he first found himself behind bars, all he wanted to do was go back to the front
But after a couple of months, he promised me he would never take up arms again
I don't know if he'll keep his word
But I think the fact that he reflected on it and made a promise matters
President, appeared on the television screen
Kremlin propagandists relish your statement that all Russians living in Western countries should be placed under the strict control of the
You cite the experience of the U.S
listened intently to your speech
"Is this your Havel?" one of them asked me
"You're not a good politician, Ilya," he sighs
Maybe I am a romantic, but I truly believe in European values
I believe that people are equal and that everyone deserves fair treatment
That everyone should be judged by their actions, not "for the company they keep." I believe that in a free society where the security
I believe that my country can get rid of the oppression of dictatorship, as yours and many other European countries of the free world once
I believe that Russia and Europe can live in peace and good neighborly relations
Putin is drumming it into the heads of my fellow citizens that Europe is the enemy and its leaders are Russophobes
Please don't help Putin convince Russians of this, and treat my people fairly
We are a country where murderers have seized power
