Another Message to the Russians.

I read a feature in the news this morning about Russians – mostly young people, I gather – who write and send letters and postcards to those many poor souls imprisoned for expressing views which do not meet with Mr Putin’s approval. (It appears to be a fact that freedom of speech is enshrined in the Russian Constitution, but Mr Putin seems to regard the Constitution with the same dismissive attitude as that held by Donald Trump towards the American one. Something else they have in common, but I digress…)

The point I want to make is this: The people writing these cards and letters say they do it out of sympathy for the victims of Putin’s tyranny. They want to help them feel less isolated, victimised, and depressed. They want to offer some sense of optimism towards the future.

Well, I want the writers to know that the prisoners are not the only beneficiaries of their kindness. I for one – and I suspect this is true of many people in Europe and the west in general – are also heartened by their actions. It gives us confidence in a belief many of us already hold – that the darkness we currently perceive as hanging over Russia will one day lift when Mr Putin either goes the way of all flesh or comes to the point of annihilation favoured by the scourge of tyrants. And then a light will shine and we can all be friends again. This is our hope, and we applaud your actions.