Point of No Return: Speaking out for democracy 和 freedom
Anastasia Voronovsky’21 grew up in Vladimir Putin’s Russia, but as an international student on 贝洛伊特’s campus, 她对自己的祖国有了新的看法，并努力适应她所学到的东西.
当俄罗斯在2022年2月入侵乌克兰时, 沃罗诺夫斯基大声说, risking her relationships with family 和 friends, 她的职业生涯, 她回到俄罗斯, 甚至是她自己的安全. She’s since founded two organizations to support 乌克兰 和 reject Putinism.
这是她的故事——用她自己的话来说.
我的伯洛伊特之旅
I grew up in an ultra-nationalistic Russian family. 我爸爸是一名高级军事飞行员, 和 guests in our house were frequently members of the military. 12岁时，我被一所军人女儿学校录取. I used to ask uncomfortable questions at the boarding school. They expelled me from school because of my political opinions, 但我仍然不舒服, 大声的孩子.
I came to 贝洛伊特 by chance through a student exchange program. 我之前就读的莫斯科大学是贝洛伊特的合作学校, 和 I was the only student who got the chance to go to 贝洛伊特 that semester. 伯洛伊特学院改变了我的世界观.
I had considered myself a knowledgeable 和 free person, 但一旦我有了免费的互联网接入, 我了解了一些关于我的国家的事情，如果我继续生活在我在俄罗斯的熟人圈子里，我永远不会知道这些事情. 我意识到，受俄罗斯宣传和我的成长环境的影响，我持有错误的信念和判断.
The exchange semester in 贝洛伊特 was incredibly hard for me. 我发现自己处在一个充满挑战的环境中，我觉得自己不是房间里最聪明的人. 这让我在智力和人格上得到了成长，这也是我决定转到伯洛伊特的原因.
我的专业是 国际关系 未成年人 新闻 和 健康与社会. I wrote a thesis on freedom of speech 和 新闻 in Russia. 2019年夏天, when I returned to Russia after the exchange program, 该国爆发了支持记者Ivan Golunov的政治集会, after the authorities arrested him for his anti-corruption investigations. I was expelled from my university in Russia for organizing a protest, but I was able to transfer to 十大菠菜台子 as a full-time student, 对此我非常感激. 不久之后，俄罗斯入侵乌克兰.
我在伯洛伊特学院的导师和老师是我的同学和教授. 我很感谢贝丝·多尔蒂，她给了我一个基础，我每天都用在我的维权工作中. 罗恩·沃森是我了解美国政治和社会问题的向导. 十大菠菜台子 requires courses outside your chosen major. This is how I met the amazing professors Sonya Maria Johnson 和 Yaffa Grossman, who gave me moral support when I needed it the most. I even learned from teachers I didn’t have a class with, such as Professor of 环境研究 巴勃罗·托拉尔. I’d heard amazing things about Pablo, so I wanted to take a class with him. 不幸的是, 这从未发生过, 所以我带着一盒俄罗斯巧克力去了他的办公室，终于见到了他，并介绍了自己.
伯洛伊特也给这个世界带来了作者, 记者, 也是我最好的朋友, 丹尼Postel 91, who graduated from the college 30 years before me 和 is the politics editor of 新线杂志. Danny texted me after hearing about one of our upcoming protests. We found out that we had both studied at 十大菠菜台子. On the day of the protest, Danny showed up with coffee for my entire team. 在了解我，了解我的故事之后, 他联系了记者本·沙米索, 为斯克里普斯新闻报写文章的人.
十大菠菜台子 gave me the academic foundation for my political career today, 和 it opened up a world where I found lifelong friends 和 colleagues.
入侵乌克兰
企业界变成了我的监狱，因为我不能参与行动主义. 我完全没有力气也没有时间. 当时我所能做的就是为乌克兰家庭的人道主义援助捐款. For months, as a Russian, I was consumed by guilt. 我知道我做得还不够.
In July 2022, I left my job, started looking for like-minded people, 和 met Dr. Denis Pedyash, who has become my colleague, mentor, 和 best friend. We began to organize anti-war actions in Chicago. 起初，只有我们几个人. By November 2022, there were 更多的 than 30 people involved. 我们首先拜访了驻芝加哥的外国大使馆，感谢他们接纳了逃离动员和独裁统治的俄罗斯移民. 冬天即将来临, 和 we joined the project Return Heat 和 Light to 乌克兰, 在俄罗斯军队袭击发电厂和基础设施的情况下，该公司至今仍在帮助没有电和暖气的乌克兰人.
The end of January 2023 was a point of no return for us. 我们组织了一次抗议活动，支持俄罗斯反对派领导人阿列克谢·纳瓦尔尼和所有政治犯. 我们走上芝加哥街头，支持所有政治犯和那些不能参加俄罗斯集会的人. 我们预计会有15-20名市民参加. 那天大约有200人到场. 我们简直不敢相信自己的眼睛. Some of the organizers were crying out of happiness. Our shock was mixed with joy 和 the realization that not everything was lost. We realized there are many of us who disagree with the war. 我们意识到我们的工作没有白费，我们有责任大声疾呼.
我的行动
Credit: Jack B. 西格尔
I am the organizer of two organizations in Chicago that oppose Putinism. One is an NGO called RADR (Russian America for Democracy in Russia - Chicago), 谁的“乌克兰自由鸟”项目向乌克兰人提供人道主义援助，并为乌克兰军队筹集资金. The other organization is called Voice of Free Russia (@VoFR_Chicago), 哪个主张和平抵抗. Their rally slogans are less radical towards Putin’s Russia, 和 they do a great job of organizing protests 和 other events. 自由俄罗斯之声的听众主要是说俄语的俄罗斯人, 白俄罗斯, 乌克兰, 吉尔吉斯斯坦, 和 other countries from the former Soviet Union — however, our doors are open to all who share the values of democracy.
These days I am immersed in news of the war 24/7, 定期监测所有可能的来源, 包括俄罗斯官方的信息渠道, 电报聊天, 和 Ukrainian sources (I have now learned Ukrainian). The war between Russia 和 乌克兰 has opened up a new phenomenon of propag和a, 我相信他们会研究很长一段时间. 尽管我以前在俄罗斯的很多朋友和家人都支持普京总统的恐怖主义行为, 我知道他们不是坏人. They are victims of propag和a 和 misinformation.
不到一年, 我们已经举行了10多次反对战争的集会，支持政治犯, dem和ing the release of our colleague Evan Grishkovich, who was illegally arrested on a fabricated charge in Russia; dem和ing the return of abducted children to 乌克兰; countering Putin’s propag和a; interacting with Navalny’s team; 和 engaging in anti-Putin educational activities in the media 和 social networks. 我们还参加了记者招待会与安东特罗亚诺夫斯基，莫斯科分社社长 《菠菜白菜吧》.
展望未来
As I write this, almost 500 days have passed since the invasion of 乌克兰. Each of these days has been a living hell for the Ukrainian people. Many families have lost loved ones in the fighting, 走在街上的时候, 或者在被俄罗斯导弹摧毁的房屋、公寓楼和医院里. 人们被埋在瓦砾下, 儿童失去四肢而死亡, 那些幸存下来的人将永远记住战争的声音和在防空洞中度过的日子的创伤. 我每天都能听到乌克兰人几个月不喝水的新闻, 热, 和光线, 还能找到战斗的力量. 他们每天都在打架. They fight for their lives, for their country, for their future. 我相信，这是我们共同的战斗, in which not only Russians 和 Ukrainians are involved. 普京在这场战争中的胜利将是法西斯主义的胜利，是自由和民主的失败.
是的，我的行动主义是有后果的. I haven’t seen my family since I moved to 贝洛伊特 和 became a full-time student. Both the p和emic 和 the distance contributed to this. 搬到美国后.S.在美国，我们发现自己被海洋隔开了，被我们之间误解的深渊隔开了. 美国.S. 和 democracy itself, according to my family members, are the enemies of Russia. 我的家人现在认为我是叛徒.
I am clearly aware that the 更多的 I do here in the U.S.我回国的机会就越少，除非政权发生变化. I am harassed online 和 I have received threats to my life. 我知道我的家人有危险. Russian security forces have already been to their doors, 并且可以随时再来敲他们的门. I am aware that I am facing a prison term in Russia, 当局认为我的活动“抹黑了俄罗斯军队”.“然而，这些后果无法与乌克兰人民在普京军队手中所遭受的痛苦相提并论.
我不知道我的未来会怎样，我的行动主义将如何影响我的事业和生活. Such questions seem irrelevant when you are dealing with real human suffering. 现在, 我的想法和努力仍然支持俄罗斯和乌克兰人民以及他们的未来.
