authorities have asked Russians living in the country who they think rightfully owns Crimea, and their views on the Ukraine war.
This is McCarthyism. Crimea is obviously rightfully part of Ukraine and anyone who thinks otherwise is wrong according to international law and the considered opinion of the international community - but being wrong shouldn’t be illegal. Governments should absolutely feel free to deport those Russian citizens who are actively acting on behalf of a hostile foreign government, but simply being both Russian and a moron doesn’t mean you’re automatically acting as an agent of Putin.
And what about those Russians in Lithuania who have loved ones back home or who may want to return to Russia one day, who have to outwardly not be critical of the regime even if that’s not what they actually believe - how should they respond to these questionnaires?
You don’t beat the bad guys by behaving like the bad guys. Privately held opinions should not be criminalised.
You’re right in principle, but in practice this is more a more sensitive matter when you share a border with a country like russia.
What they could do is bar any russian from entering unless they can prove on a case-by-case basis at the border that they are escaping persecution in russia for being against the invasion and need to cross it. I think that would be legal and ethical.
IIRC they did the exact opposite: they announced Russians running from the draft will be deprted back to Russia because they shoud not be allowed to “escape responsibility”.
This is McCarthyism. Crimea is obviously rightfully part of Ukraine and anyone who thinks otherwise is wrong according to international law and the considered opinion of the international community - but being wrong shouldn’t be illegal. Governments should absolutely feel free to deport those Russian citizens who are actively acting on behalf of a hostile foreign government, but simply being both Russian and a moron doesn’t mean you’re automatically acting as an agent of Putin.
And what about those Russians in Lithuania who have loved ones back home or who may want to return to Russia one day, who have to outwardly not be critical of the regime even if that’s not what they actually believe - how should they respond to these questionnaires?
You don’t beat the bad guys by behaving like the bad guys. Privately held opinions should not be criminalised.
You’re right in principle, but in practice this is more a more sensitive matter when you share a border with a country like russia.
What they could do is bar any russian from entering unless they can prove on a case-by-case basis at the border that they are escaping persecution in russia for being against the invasion and need to cross it. I think that would be legal and ethical.
IIRC they did the exact opposite: they announced Russians running from the draft will be deprted back to Russia because they shoud not be allowed to “escape responsibility”.