The New York TimesThe New York Times

Russian anti-war activists seek common goals (when they're not bickering)

By Neil MacFarquhar

07 Dec 2022 · 5 min read

Editor's Note

Russian activists living outside the country are trying to bring an end to the conflict in Ukraine. The NYT spoke to some of them and was told how difficult it has been to forge a common agenda.

Berlin — Seeking to describe the fractious, stalled nature of the Russian opposition working in exile, Abubakar Yangulbaev, a young Chechen human rights defender, referred to a Russian fable from the early 1800s called “Swan, Pike and Crawfish.”

The three incompatible animals, all harnessed to the same cart, pull constantly in different directions, so that it never moves, Yangulbaev said.

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