Vlad Kolesnikov was only 17 years old when he openly stood up against the annexation of Crimea and Russia’s war against Ukraine.
The teenager was harshly rebuked by his family
and friends because of his views. On Dec. 23 he committed suicide through
medical overdose in Russia’s city of Zhygulevsk, Radio Liberty reported on Dec.
26.
Kolesnikov’s name was widespread in the media
when he dared to come to his college in Podolsk, Moscow region, wearing a
T-shirt depicting the Ukrainian flag and with the words “Return Crimea” written
on it.
The teenager also told officers of a local
military recruitment office that he refused to serve the Russian army because
he didn’t want to fight against his “brothers in Ukraine.” He also turned on
the Ukrainian anthem in the recruitment office.
Together with his friends, Kolesnikov hung an
anti-war placard on one of the downtown buildings of Podolsk. He launched an
anti-Kremlin blog and was preparing to organize anti-government protests in
Moscow.
Because of this Kolesnikov was expelled from his
college and rejected by his own grandfather, a former Soviet security service
officer. He had to leave Podolsk and moved to Zhygulevsk where his father lives.
In an interview with Radio Liberty Back in June,
Kolesnikov said that he was lucky not to be watching Russian TV because of its
heavy pro-Kremlin propaganda.
In one of his last Facebook posts Kolesnikov said that Russians are slowly changing their pro-Russian attitude since more of them are being directly affected by sanctions and Kremlin’s
anti-Western laws.
“I think that there is a revolutionary mood that is being
shaped in Russia, despite the process being slow. It is unlikely that changes will
happen while (Russia’s President Vladimir) Putin’s ratings are high,” Kolesnikov wrote. “But I think
the situation will change once the… embargoes, sanctions and (Russia’s) other stupid laws
will start affecing the common person.”
