My journey to where I am now—an activist in exile, a wanted “extremist” and part of something greater, started in confusion and isolation but has led to a strong sense of belonging and responsibility. We still have a long way to go in laying the foundation for democracy in Russia, but at least we have started—and I am living proof of that. […]

“To the outside observer, some places may seem hopeless and completely lost. It looks like nothing good comes out of them and there should be no faith in their future. I come from such a place, and my organization fights for it. The Youth Democratic Movement Vesna (“Spring” in Russian) was created in 2013 in Saint Petersburg. For the first eight years of its existence, it was a relatively small (nevertheless, ambitious) youth organization with a focus on local and countrywide issues, and with the main goal of introducing youth to political action in the highly atomized and apolitical Russian society. […]”