Who and how measured that most Russians support the war? When Putin is gone, we will be surprised how many people actually support neither the war nor his regime, human rights activist Oleg Orlov told DW.
In February 2024, Oleg Orlov was sentenced to imprisonment on an article for "discrediting" the Russian army. He was released in a prisoner exchange in August of the same year. Orlov has recently become a member of the Platform of Russian Democratic Forces at PACE. In early February 2026, the platform issued a statement in support of Ukraine's security and defense capabilities. The document also raises the question of Russia's responsibility for the aggression.
Did the initiative of the Platform of Russian Democratic Forces in PACE and the reaction to it surprise you? Its authors are accused of saying that with the same force the text could have been written by Ukrainians, but not by Russians. What do you think?
Oleg Orlov: I'll be honest: it's stupid. People say stupid things. Because Russia is the aggressor. And it's the job of Russian politicians – not just politicians and public figures – to speak specifically about the aggression and the consequences of this aggression.
"People don't say what they think because they are afraid"
When the aggression stops, when the country stops being aggressive, when it no longer poses a threat to the outside world, we, the emigrants, or people who are no longer emigrants but live here, in Europe or in other countries, will be treated differently. That is why we need to understand the root cause and the consequence. That is precisely why it is the job of Russian politicians and public figures to speak specifically about the war in Ukraine, about the aggression.
(…) I would question the fact that the majority of Russians support the war. Who measured this and how? Where are these real studies? Even the sociological surveys that are currently being conducted in totalitarian Russia clearly show that people do not say what they think because they are afraid and often repeat the official theses... And even here we see that the majority is for peace. People are tired, people do not want more war. Someday Putin will go away - no doubt. And when he goes away, because it is only a matter of time, we will all be surprised at how many people actually do not support either the war or Putin's regime.
While you were serving your sentence, what was the attitude towards you as a political prisoner? Were you treated normally?
Oleg Orlov: Yes. (...) In general, the attitude towards me as a human rights activist was rather positive, I can say that it was generally respectful.
Can we assume that people in Russian prisons do not like Putin? What does your experience show?
Oleg Orlov: They are more likely to dislike him. They are more likely to be skeptical of both the war and the official propaganda in general. And that's not even the main question. A person who has opposed the system - this bureaucratic system, which is hostile to everyone, essentially hostile to both prisoners and staff... A person who has opposed the system commands respect among them. But if there is an order from above, then everyone will persecute you, they will put pressure on you.
The sadism shown towards Ukrainian prisoners of war can make one's hair stand on end.
Oleg Orlov: We at "Memorial" have studied the issue, I have personally talked in great detail with such people in Ukraine who were subsequently released. But we also have other reliable sources. And yes, it is terrible. What is happening to the prisoners of war, this sadism is absolutely imposed from above. There is obviously an order to act as cruelly as possible. I have never heard or seen anything like this before. I can't even imagine that it is possible... This must be some kind of know-how specifically for Ukrainian prisoners of war.
So these tortures, Bucha, the murdered children, the shelling of power plants and the cities frozen by the cold - this is now the face of Russia turned to the world?
Oleg Orlov: Exactly.
"Political responsibility is borne by all of us"
Are the Russian people responsible for this? I ask you as a human rights activist and representative of an organization, a Nobel Prize laureate.
Oleg Orlov: I recently reread the book by the famous German philosopher Karl Jaspers about the political guilt of the German people. Everything is very well explained and arranged there. What does he tell us?
The criminal responsibility lies with specific people - Putin, Mishustin, Gerasimov, etc. The people who started the aggressive war.
But there are other forms of responsibility: moral, political. And Karl Jaspers also speaks of "existential" responsibility, of responsibility before God. Some agree with this, others – not. But let's take the political and moral side of the issue. Moral responsibility requires everyone to decide for themselves, to define themselves. And political responsibility is borne by all of us – you, me, and all our friends, colleagues and enemies in Russia, and we emigrants. Each in our own way, of course.
You will say - and why us and you? Because we did not cope, we allowed it to get to this point, for the country to slide in this direction, we failed to prevent it. Of course, we all bear our share of political responsibility - not criminal, but political.