I believe only Russians can stop Putin!
In the last few days, I have come to the conclusion that the only way to stop Putin is through the Russian people. Fortunately, Russians have a history of doing exactly this. I do think though, that with some extra motivation things will go faster.
And the faster; the better.
I am aware that my method is a bit hardcore and that I am generalizing. I have a lot of Russian friends that are helping, but frankly, it is because I am afraid.
Not only am I afraid because of my family and colleagues (my wife’s brother, father and mother, cousins and grandmother) but also colleagues like Denys, Sem and Olga are stuck in Ukraine…
Also, because I am convinced that Putin has gone insane and is basically Hitler on repeat.
The scary difference?
With close to 3.000 nuclear weapons at his disposal, things can go from bad to worse very fast.
Some background…
As you already know, Russia has launched an unprovoked full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Russian military forces are killing people we work with, upending families, destroying cities, orphanages, Chernobyl and now threatening nuclear action.
In my case, my mother-, father- and brother in law spent the weekend with 10.000s people in the underground Metro during the curfew of Kyiv.
Just for a moment imagine yourself sitting there. That is the humanitarian aspect of it.
But I believe it can be even worse than that if we allow the Russian people to let Putin continue.
Putin is copying Hitler’s playbook, I believe Russians are under an obligation to stop a disaster from happening!
Hitler | Putin |
---|---|
On March 7, 1936, Adolf Hitler troops back into the Rhineland, an area that was supposed to remain a demilitarized zone according to the Treaty of Versailles.
And then, on October 1, 1938, the Czech Sudetenland was ceded to Hitler after the Munich Agreement. |
On March 18, 2014, Putin annexed the peninsula and established two federal subjects there, the Republic of Crimea and the federal city of Sevastopol, but the territories are still internationally recognized as being part of Ukraine. |
On March 15, 1939, German troops marched into Czechoslovakia. They took over Bohemia and established a protectorate over Slovakia. it proved that Hitler had been lying in Munich. | On February 24, 2022, Putin invaded Ukraine and is threatening the world with nuclear war… He will not stop with Ukraine if the Russians let him! |
What I do to motivate the Russian people to stop Putin
I know this might feel a bit like mobbing, frankly it’s not.
The difference is not so big from sanctions; it is just much more powerful.
- Poland and now Sweden* did this great. I am writing to my teams, sports channels and sports betting companies to boycott Russia and Russian athletes from ANY sports event. I want them to tear their contracts apart. The athletes have family and interests so they don’t dare to speak out, probably I wouldn’t be in isolation either. However, eliminating Russia from sports will get the discussion going.
- I don’t buy anything Russian. I have called my electricity company, petrol station, the supermarket where the gas, petrol or wheat is coming from. I preferably do this when other people are around, so they (hopefully) start copying my behavior.
- I don’t sell anything to Russians that choose to be passive until this war ends. At our businesses, we have effectively stopped doing any treatments or content for Russians if we don’t see that they are actively against the war.
- I post this post on all our 100’s internet properties so 10 000s of people can see it.
*Update. Love that that all teams, FIFA, UEFA, International Olympic Committe are joining now, imagine if all Russian sport athletes and artists get blocked from any team, they won’t be alone anymore and will be able to speak up without whatever terrible things Putin would do to them and their families. Additionally Putin’s propaganda machine will not be fake those news.
Is my way too rough? This is what everybody also can do to help Ukraine
- Attend demonstrations in your city to support Ukraine to make your politicians attentive.
- Demand the punishment of world leaders who have supported Russia’s violent aggression on Ukraine
- Ask your governments to send ammunition, as Sweden and Germany have done. Ukraine is fighting, but they can’t fight with pots and pans.
- Donate to the National bank of Ukraine and charity.
https://ukraine.ua/news/donate-to-the-nbu-fund/
https://savelife.in.ua/en/donate/
- Finally and most importantly, share information and news about the current situation in your own words, here are some links to good sources.
Let’s stop this war and hopefully get rid of Putin by acting today!