Translator, philologist and now activist, Yulia Taran is a Russian who is a staunch defender of freedoms and democracy for her country, surely like millions of Russians who are now suffering under Vladimir Putin's dictatorship. She is also an enthusiastic supporter of the Ukrainian cause because if Putin wins this war, he thinks he will strengthen his power for a long time.
“We want Russia to be a peaceful, free and democratic country, where people can freely express their will and decide at the ballot box who their leaders will be and determine their future without any kind of impositions, as in any other democratic country in the world.”
“Russia is living under a brutal dictatorship where there is no form of dissent or political protest. You can be put in jail for years and tortured for simply going to a demonstration against the regime.”
“This is a fight between the Russian people and Putin’s dictatorship.”
“If we give up part of Ukraine, or even the whole country, to Putin now, another war will follow in a few months or years, and there will be no peace in Europe or on Russia's periphery.”
by Ricardo Angoso
Ricardo Angoso: Could you introduce yourself and tell us who Yulia Tarán is?
Yulia Taran: My name is Yulia Taran, I am Russian and I was born in St. Petersburg when it was Leningrad. I have been in Spain for twenty years. I arrived in this country at the end of the nineties and I dedicated myself to interpreting at conferences and various events, because in Russia I graduated in Hispanic Philology. For several years I have been an activist and now I am vice president and co-founder of Free Russians, an organization that promotes democracy and freedom in Russia and is critical of the war in Ukraine launched in this country by Vladimir Putin.
RA: Can you define Free Russians for someone who is not familiar with this organization?
YT: Free Russians is a group of citizens from Russia and other parts of the former Soviet Union, because our association includes not only Russians, but also Ukrainians and people of other nationalities and ethnicities who speak Russian. What unites us all is that we speak Russian and care about the future of this part of the world. We want a better future and we consider the current situation to be unsustainable and unacceptable. Russia is currently at war with Ukraine. In addition, in our country we do not have an elected president at the head of an elected executive, but rather a criminal mafia that usurps power through violence, killing its political opponents, and eliminating all forms of dissent. The current Russian government headed by Putin controls the country through disinformation, manipulation, and propaganda. So, in these circumstances, we want Russia to be a peaceful, free and democratic country, where people can freely express their will and decide at the ballot box who their leaders will be and determine their future without any kind of imposition, as in any other democratic country in the world.
RA: Where are the Free Russians and how does your organization operate?
YT: We are only in Spain and we have groups in Barcelona, Madrid, Valencia, Alicante, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Bilbao, Asturias and many more cities and towns. We are activists and we carry out street actions, demonstrations and protests to denounce the current situation in Russia. But we are also very active on the networks, with several channels on youtube.com, both in Russian and Spanish, to counter-propaganda against the Putin regime and to try to explain the truth about the events taking place in Russia. We interview relevant people who can provide illustrative points of view about what is happening in Russia and reportages that shed light on these events.
We also have relations with political parties and movements that want to listen to us and share our views regarding our defence of democratic values in Russia. We have met with the Popular Party (PP) at its headquarters and in the Congress of Deputies with several representatives of that party and others who wanted to listen to us. In Catalonia, we have had contacts with some left-wing parties and we have approached and maintain relations with what has been called the European Solidarity Network with Ukraine, to which several left-wing political formations belong that support this country and demand that Western governments give more support, both political and military, to the Ukrainians. We collaborate with many groups and collectives of all colours.
We are also very involved in helping Ukrainians, both refugees and those suffering from the war in that country, by carrying out campaigns to collect funds and provide humanitarian aid to Ukrainians. At this time, when Russia is attacking the Ukrainian energy infrastructure, we are working to be able to send electric generators and electronic equipment to Ukraine that can alleviate the situation that the country is experiencing after the Russian attacks. Ukraine is currently experiencing the most atrocious Russian bombings since the war began and many Ukrainian cities are without electricity and we must try to alleviate the effects of this shortage and help people who urgently need electricity, such as schools and hospitals first and foremost.
THE SITUATION IN RUSSIA AND TRUMP'S ARRIVAL AT THE WHITE HOUSE
RA: We know very little about what is happening inside Russia, what news do you have about what is really happening inside the country?
YT: Russia is living under a brutal dictatorship in which there is no form of political dissent or protest. You can be put in jail for years and tortured for simply going to a demonstration against the regime. Putin has deprived Russia of any possibility of organizing a political movement dissident or critical of his criminal regime. There is no opposition in Russia. Every form of opposition to Putin's regime has been killed, imprisoned or tortured. Russian opposition leaders are in exile or in prison. Russians do not want this war against Ukraine and what we have now is an official discourse of nationalist hysteria that tries to justify the aggression against this country. Nobody wants this war with Russia, it has been imposed by Putin on the Russian people. This war is only needed by one person, Putin, and his closest circle, who monopolizes total power in Russia. There are no democratic elections in Russia and Putin monopolizes power in an illegitimate way, elections have no value in my country. It is a struggle between democracy, the people, and the dictatorship that Putin embodies.
RA: Don't you think that the next American president, Donald Trump, will try to appease Putin by handing over conquered territories to Ukraine to stop the war?
YT: We as Russians believe that this would be a wrong step. Leaving aside the figure of Trump, I personally believe that his coming to power is a serious mistake not only for the United States but also for the world, and it is wrong to think that pleasing Putin can help solve problems. Peace cannot be achieved through negotiations, concessions and capitulations to a dictatorship, because that has never happened historically and has been proven many times. That will never happen, peace will not be achieved by making concessions to a criminal. A dictator needs war to stay in power, as is the case with Putin, and that will happen if concessions are made to the tyrant. Putin does not care about his people, or the Ukrainian people, he is only interested in staying in power at any cost. If we give Putin part of Ukraine now, or even the whole country, then another war will follow in a few months or years and there will be no peace in Europe or on the periphery of Russia. We don't know where, but there will be more wars and Putin will go further, no one will stop him. Europe is in danger, although it may not know it, including Spain.
RA: Do you sense that there is fatigue and less support for Ukraine in Europe?
YT: Of course. After three years of tragedies and deaths, it is impossible to maintain the same enthusiasm as at the beginning and it is normal for people to get tired. I think that a large part of our fault is ours, that of international public opinion, that we did not do more to help Ukraine from the beginning of the war. We have not done enough to put all our forces into defending and helping the Ukrainians. They lack military aid, which is insufficient, and that has only benefited Putin. Thank goodness that, at least, President Joe Biden has finally authorized these missile attacks on Russian soil by Ukraine. But it all comes too late. We should have done more to help Ukraine. We want Ukraine to win this war because if Putin wins this war, he will be able to show the oligarchs, the interest groups behind him, that he controls and controls and remains the strongman of the mafia system that dominates Russia. Putin is a real boss and if he shows his strength, the clans that run Russia will submit to him. In the West, there are many people who fear that if Putin falls, a civil war will break out between the various clans behind Putin, which I think would be better than the current situation.
RA: We know how Putin acts, killing dissidents abroad. Are you not afraid of his activities?
YT: We are already on the blacklist of undesirable organizations created by the Putin regime. All of us who participate in the protests of our organization are subject to sanctions and can be fined and even lose our property in Russia. Their relatives can also suffer reprisals or be arrested for our activities. But Putin's repressive action is directed more at those who have abandoned him and who were with the regime and changed sides. Putin does not tolerate any form of dissent, and in his mind, that is the worst crime, having abandoned and betrayed him.
What a gypsy this is in the photo! Ugly Indian! Jewess! By the way, nudios, why are you so ugly and why is there no facial difference between women and men between you? Isn't it because you are of HERMAPHRIDITE origin? Yes, yes. What "handsome" Indian gypsies!!!!!!!