A woman walks past graffiti on a fence that reads ‘No war’ and ‘Stop war’ in Moscow, Russia, March 14, 2022. Contributor/Getty Images
An English teacher in Russia was fined for telling her student that Ukraine is not part of Russia.
Marina Dubrova told the NYT, “It’s like they all fell into some kind of madness.”
Putin advocated “society self-purification” last month, referring to those opposed to the war.
A teacher in Russia said she was fired and fined after being referred to authorities for comments she made to students about Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Marina Dubrova told the New York Times that she showed her eighth grader a YouTube video with an anti-war message. After that, a group of girls asked her about the war.
Dubrova, an English teacher on the Russian island of Sakhalin, told the girls, “Ukraine is a separate country.” One of the girls replied, “Not anymore.”
Russian police officers arrived at her school days later, The Times reported, and a recording of her comments, apparently recorded by a student, was presented to the court.
She was fined $400 for “publicly discrediting” Russian forces and fired from the school for “amoral behavior,” she told the Times. Of the Russians pro-war, Dubrova said, “It’s like they’ve all sunk into some kind of madness.”
There were different ones reports of Russians suing each other for opposing the war, which Russia calls a “special military operation,” though it’s unclear how widespread it is.
Russian President Vladimir Putin pointed out last month that Russia must undergo a social purge to root out those opposed to the war or allied with the West.
“The collective West is trying to fragment our society, speculating on military casualties, on the socio-economic impact of sanctions in order to provoke a popular rebellion in Russia,” Putin said said in a video address.
“But every people, especially the Russian people, is able to distinguish real patriots from bastards and traitors and will spit them out,” he said, referring to people who do not support the Kremlin.
The story goes on
“I am sure that this necessary and natural self-purification of society will only strengthen our country, our solidarity, our togetherness and our willingness to respond to every call to action,” he added.
More than 4,300 anti-war demonstrators in Russia were arrested in early March during protests across the country.
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