Russian climbers and mountaineers stand against war in Ukraine

As the war in the Ukraine intensifies and mass anti-war demonstrations take place throughout Russia, many in the Russian climbing and mountaineering community are taking an open stand against the war.

Taking on huge personal risks, in the last few days numerous climbers and athletes have already spoken out on their social media channels. Now two independent, parallel open letters against military action in the Ukraine are being signed by Russian rock climbers and mountaineers. The former is on https://climbersvswar.ru, the latter can be found here.

It cannot be underlined how brave this act is. The Russian human rights group OVD-Info has stated that 6,440 people have so far been detained by police since the anti-war protests began last Thursday.

As one of the promoters stated "Here in Russia we all understand the risk, up to 20 years for high treason, but we decided we can’t keep silent." Another added "We understand that our letter will not change Putin's mind, but at least we want people in other countries to know that we are against this war." The determination and courage needed to take this stand is admirable.