For 19-year-old Oleinikova, joining a climate protest in Berlin this week meant risking more than just a stern lecture from her parents. As a Russian citizen now living in Germany, she says speaking out against her own government carries a daily threat of imprisonment. “It is very scary and we are afraid,” she told the crowd.
“But still, we are doing our activism because we feel that it is very important. It is the right thing to do and we won’t stop.” Oleinikova was one of thousands of mostly young people who marched through Berlin’s government district to the Brandenburg Gate—a monument that once symbolized the Cold War division between East and West.
Many carried Ukraine’s yellow and blue national flag. The rally featured two young Russian activists who denounced their government’s actions in Ukraine, including Oleinikova and fellow activist Arshak Makichyan. Makichyan said the war in Ukraine and the Western sanctions imposed on Russia were also having a drastic impact on the Russian economy.
“Everything we had is collapsing,” he said, adding that he hoped the conflict would end as quickly as possible.
Global demonstrations from Jakarta to Paris
The Berlin protest was part of the 10th series of worldwide demonstrations organized by the Fridays for Future movement, which was inspired by Swedish activist Greta Thunberg. The group called for actions from Indonesia to Europe and the United States, linking their environmental message to calls for an end to the war in Ukraine.
In Jakarta, Indonesia, activists dressed in red robes held placards demanding “system change, not climate change.” Others carried a banner reading “G-20, stop funding our extinction”—a reference to the fact that the Group of 20 biggest developed and emerging economies account for about 80% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Indonesia is set to host the group’s next summit this fall.
Some 300 protests were planned across Germany, which has taken in about 250,000 Ukrainian refugees in the past month alone. In Paris, several hundred young people gathered and marched from the domed Pantheon on the Left Bank to the Bastille plaza. They carried signs reading “Wake Up” with a drawing of a burning Earth, calling on French presidential candidates to do more to fight climate change.
Other demonstrators accused French oil company TotalEnergies of cozying up to Russian President Vladimir Putin for its refusal to pull out of Russia.
Rome protesters carry giant globe
In Rome, protesters carried a giant inflatable globe through the streets and a banner reading “Make school, not war.” The demonstrations linked environmental concerns with anti-war sentiment, reflecting a growing intersection between climate activism and opposition to the conflict in Ukraine. Oleinikova stressed that many Russians do not support Putin’s actions. “There are a lot of Russian people who are against Putin, and they do not support what Putin is doing,” she said.
As the war in Ukraine continues and the G-20 summit approaches this fall in Indonesia, activists are expected to maintain pressure on world leaders. The Fridays for Future movement has indicated it will keep organizing global actions, with the next series of demonstrations likely timed to coincide with major international meetings on climate and energy policy.
