The wave of keeping a low profile for Russians living in Spain who support Moscow’s invasion has clearly faded. Citizens from Russia who reside in Spain and back the Kremlin’s war are becoming more forceful and at times openly aggressive when they are challenged or booed by fellow compatriots. They believe that freedom of expression protects their actions in Spain and feel they will face no consequences for responding with violence, according to Alekséi Nesterenko, president of Los Rusos Libres, the group that gathers Russians opposed to the regime in Spain.
As an example, Nesterenko recalls the violence witnessed during a May march in Barcelona held to mark Victory Day, a key Soviet-era holiday that now serves as a loyalty display to Putin’s regime. A Los Rusos Libres activist confronted the protesters with a banner showing a Ukrainian slogan paired with the word fascist. The demonstrator, outraged that Moscow claims to have freed Europe from fascism, ripped the banner and reacted aggressively toward the opposing Russian activist, who filmed the incident on video.
May 2023
Nesterenko believes there is a before and after May 2023, when Russians who support the invasion of Ukraine and live in Spain were able to march openly through Madrid, displaying symbols that have become war emblems compatible with the invasion such as the letter Z or the orange and black Saint George ribbon. He laments that while countries like Germany have banned some of these symbols, the Spanish government has continued to permit them.
The ease with which Kremlin-supporting Russians have found a foothold in Spain contrasts with the pressure faced by opposition members during protests. Opponents frequently encounter strangers who photograph or film them. At a ceremony marking the third anniversary of the poisoning of opposition leader Aleksei Navalny in Barcelona, police separated a man with a Latin American accent, and another Russian was pressured by bystanders to delete the images he had taken of the demonstrators, under threat of calling the police. Many opposition figures still have relatives inside Russia and fear that identification could invite legal retaliation.
Los Rusos Libres has been labeled an undesirable organization by Russian authorities, a fact that has received coverage in the state media. Its leaders say they cannot return to Russia until political change occurs.