Russian protestors struggle to understand Ukraine war: 'We didn't choose this' - CNN
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But many Russians, in fact, do not fully know what is happening in Ukraine. State-controlled television shows almost no reports of Russian bombing and shelling in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities, instead it focuses on so-called Ukrainian "nationalists" and "neo-fascists."
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But Russian young people like 25-year-old Arina, who lives in Moscow, is not watching TV -- she says she hasn't watched it in seven years. She's on the internet, reading blogs and listening to vloggers. She hasn't taken part in protests yet, but she has seen young people on the street taking part in "silent protests," sticking "No to War" signs on their backpacks or bags.
She, too, is having difficulty comprehending why this war in Ukraine is happening and what it will mean for her own life as a young Russian.
"It is very difficult to predict anything, of course, the situation is horrible," Arina, who asked CNN to only use her first name for her safety said. "Among some of my friends, there is a lot of anxiety about the future, a lot of fear, because we don't know how it will affect us."
But Arina's mother sees it completely differently: "My mom believes everything she sees on TV," Arina says.
"She believes that it was a necessary measure by Putin because there are weapons surrounding the country...there's a threat from the West, which is why Putin is doing this."
Arina says she even checked out a guide on a Russian online magazine for students, Doxa, suggesting how young Russians can talk with their parents and others about the war in Ukraine. "We understand how painful it can be when your parents, friends, colleagues, grandfathers and grandmothers turn into supporters of the war," it reads.
"So we decided to prepare a guide for how to talk about the war with those who justify it. In our guide you'll find answers to 17 of the most widespread arguments spread by propaganda and most often heard in fights," it said.
Arina read it just in time. On February 28, the magazine reported that the Russian government agency supervising communications, IT and mass media demanded Doxa remove the guide from its website.
Arina says she and her mother "had a very fierce argument."
"She just doesn't accept my position and thinks I'm a pro-Westerner, that I don't understand anything. She doesn't believe what I say, I don't believe what she says...We have very different sources of information: I learn everything from the independent media, which have mostly long been blocked in Russia, and she watches TV."
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