I think it’s really worth emphasising the extraordinary amount of courage it must have taken for this journalist to stage such a high-profile protest.
We must also emphasise the likelihood that she will face pretty severe consequences
The Kremlin has imposed pretty severe penalties against people who take part in unsanctioned protests, for example, people can be sent to jail for up to eight years.
People who publish what the Kremlin would deem to be false information about the Russian army and its activities can also face a severe jail sentence of up to 15 years. There is a whole other host of laws under which we assume she could be prosecuted. We’ll have to wait and see what happens.
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Protests have continued every day since this invasion began and nearly 15,000 people have been reportedly detained.
She’s undoubtedly going to become more of a symbol for those people. Will she change the views of Russians who largely watch state television and believe the Kremlin’s line? That’s more difficult to answer.
