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COURIER LIFE, MARCH 25-31, 2022
BY MEAGHAN MCGOLDRICK
Hundreds of people from Russia,
Ukraine, Georgia and Kazakhstan
took to the Riegelmann
Boardwalk in Brighton Beach on
Sunday to stand with residents
of Ukraine — just one day after
a similar showing of support
in one of the Russian diaspora’s
largest communities outside of
eastern Europe.
The March 20 protest was organized
by a group called For
Freedom in Russia, which bills itself
on social media as a means to
“fi ght the Putin regime.”
Organizer Alexander Korzun
told Brooklyn Paper the rally was
important for two reasons.
“First, this war is horrible and
it should be stopped as soon as possible,”
he said, noting the humanitarian
crisis in cities such as Mariupol,
Kyiv and Kharkiv, where
bombs are dropping daily. “People
are dying, civilians and children
are under fi re in Ukraine.”
Secondly, Korzun said “Russian
people should not be silent
now.”
“As Russians we do want to
say that we are strongly against
this war, we condemn Russian
President Vladimir Putin’s aggression
and those who support
this war. And we stand with
Ukraine,” he said. “Russia is
turning into totalitarian dictatorship
— and that’s a horrible
development, too — so a lot of people
in Russia can’t express their
opinion now. Yet still we use an
opportunity to speak freely here
in New York to say that Russian
people can’t or afraid to say.”
Just the day before, RUSA
LGBTQ+, a local community of
queer Russian speakers and immigrants
from former parts of
the Soviet Union, organized its
own march and rally along the
boardwalk. Marchers stepped off
from the Coney Island section of
the boardwalk and walked east
to Brighton Beach, stopping several
times to sing and dance to
Ukrainian music.
As the march progressed,
chants of “No Putin, no war!” and
“Get out of Ukraine!” reverberated
down the boardwalk — rare
sounds in an otherwise sleepy
neighborhood — and pedestrians
frequently stopped to record videos
or clap along. The marchers,
including many Ukrainians, also
repeated the controversial demand
to impose a no-fl y zone over
Ukraine — something the United
States and other western countries
have strongly opposed due to
the risks of a global war.
Similar calls and chants were
made Sunday, as the invasion
overseas continued to escalate.
In a sea of Ukrainian blue-andyellow
fl ags — and posters calling
for the imprisonment of Putin
— stood many white fl ags with a
center blue stripe. This “so-called
Russian anti-war fl ag,” Korzun
said, is reminiscent of a “Russian
fl ag without blood.”
“This fl ag is already banned in
Russia but for us it’s a symbol of
freedom, peace, and responsibility
to stop this bloody chapter of
Russian history,” he told Brooklyn
Paper.
This weekend was not the fi rst
in which southern Brooklynites
took to the streets to decry the
war.
Scores of locals massed at Asser
Levy Park on Feb. 27 draped in
the nation’s yellow-and-blue fl ags
to show their support to a country
under siege. Yet another large
gathering in support of Ukraine
took place on March 6 on the historic
boardwalk connecting Coney
Island and Brighton Beach.
Among those who have shown
support for the local rallies are
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Brighton Beach rallies Protesters called for an end to the war
in Ukraine — and the mprisonment of
Russian President Vladimir Putin at
back-to-back Brighton Beach rallies
on Saturday, March 19 and Sunday,
March 20.
Photos by Erica Price and Matt Tracy
Brooklyn CoUrIEr lIFE
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