Episode 24- Santry resident fled Russia before the war against Ukraine

Olga Popova and her husband moved to Ireland in 2021 before the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. They settled in Santry on the northside of Dublin. Her husband was involved in activities protesting against the Russian government and they were prompted to flee after he spent a night in police custody. ‘I was at home with our child, because in Russia, if you go protests you need to be able to run fast’. Now Olga has her own business here and is co-ordinator of Free Russians Ireland and has developed her Tiktok profile, which has 50,000 followers. Free Russians Ireland have organised protests at the Russian embassy in Dublin and elsewhere to mobilise support for ex-pats who are like minded. They also work together to show solidarity with some of the thousands of political prisoners in Russia, writing letters to them and campaigning for their release. Many people wonder about Russian attitudes to the war. Olga says that ‘while surveys show that 80% Russians support war, this is based on a surveys where 95% refuse to participate in surveys’. She says she hopes for Russia to lose the war because Russia became more autocratic after its victories in war, for example against Napolean in 1812 and later against the Germany in the Second World War. On the other hand, Russia became more free after the Crimean War in the 1850s. Olga hopes for the war to end and for her home country to become more free in the future. Olga’s view is that the war can continue for some time because it is comfortable for the regime but the Free Russians Ireland group have ideas about what can make it uncomfortable. She argues sanctions should be refocused to impact the regime, not the people. Olga’s Tiktok- https://www.tiktok.com/@ollanicko Open Mind Wind is Olga’s marketing business –Success Stories Free Russians Ireland- Facebook Free Russians Ireland- https://www.instagram.com/freerussians.ireland?igsh=MThoZDJwcGVvNm1raw==