Piwowarov: Without Germany's support, "the prison would not have survived"
If he hadn't "made it onto this list," he would still be "sitting in his cell," Piwowarow said at a joint press conference with fellow released Russian opposition figures Vladimir Kara-Mursa and Ilya Yashin. He was sure that "many people in Russia" were inspired by the exchange.
In his prison cell, Piwowarow said he had plenty of time to think. He came to the conclusion that people in the West "should not associate people in Russia with the state." There is "a lot of fear," he said. Not everyone is ready to go to prison. "But the forces of good are strong," he emphasized.
He appealed to the West: "Reach out, turn to the people." These are steps "that would help us all."
Because the worldview shown by propaganda is beginning to crumble. People are understanding "that the West is not the enemy, as Russian television claims." Regarding the role of the released Russian opposition figures, Piwowarow said: "We want to give hope to the people in Russia who are now under pressure."
Russia and its ally Belarus, on one side, and Germany, the USA, and three other NATO countries, on the other, carried out the prisoner exchange Thursday afternoon in the Turkish capital Ankara. Russia released 15 prisoners, including four with German citizenship.
The release of a German initially sentenced to death and later pardoned in Belarus was also achieved. According to Russian reports, eight Russian prisoners and two minors, the children of two of those released, were flown back to Russia in exchange.
Piwowarow is one of the best-known opposition politicians in Russia. In 2022, he was sentenced to four years in a labor camp for illegal publications. Piwowarow had already been in custody for more than a year at the time of the trial. He was accused of recruiting for a banned organization on the social network Facebook.
The 42-year-old was previously the leader of the Open Russia opposition movement, founded by oligarch and Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky. At the end of May 2021, Piwowarow announced the dissolution of the organization, citing the need to protect its members from prosecution.
Open Russia was founded in 2014 by Khodorkovsky to unite the pro-European opposition in Russia. Khodorkovsky has lived abroad since his pardon after ten years in prison in 2013.
kas/yb
The following group of released Russian opposition figures, including Piwowarow, hoped that their actions would inspire many people in Russia. Piwowarow believed that the worldview propagated by Russian television as enemy of the West is beginning to crumble.
