What should Russia and Poland do to become if not friends, then at least not enemies?
Russian society needs to promote decent people who reject imperialism. The problem is that most of such people prefer to leave Russia than fight for improvement in it.
Here is a report by a Polish female mountaneer who met young Russian emigrees while climbing in Georgia.
onet.pl/turystyka/onetpodroze/polka-spedzila-noc-pod-jednym-dachem-z-rosjanami-oto-co-sie-wydarzylo-list/0111hg6,07640b54
You can translate the whole text in Chrome on your own but here is what I deemed most important:
Only then did I realize that they were very young. They were just over 20 years old. At the beginning of the conversation, the boy admitted that many months earlier they had moved to Tbilisi because it was safer there than in Russia. It was a clear signal which side of the conflict attitude this couple was on. Moreover, they quickly opened up about the war in Ukraine, the situation in their homeland and the reality in which some Russians had to live. Their stories showed that they took part in several demonstrations against the war, and during one of them they were arrested. Fearing repression, they decided to escape from Russia. An additional factor was the fact that the boy did not want to fall victim to forced conscription into the army.
We talked for a long time about the madness that is the war in Ukraine. During the conversation, they confessed that they had friends in Warsaw whom they would like to visit, but they could not cross the borders of our country. Moreover, they cannot cross the borders of their own country because they are sure that they would face repression. At one point the girl started crying.
During the conversation, I realized for the first time what a great tragedy the Russians are experiencing because they oppose Putin and the conflict he has unleashed in Ukraine. These two people had to make extremely difficult decisions at a very young age. They were forced to abandon everything they knew because of the dreams of a brutal murderer and his henchmen who were fixated on "Greater Russia". The question is how many years later, if at all, they will be able to return to their own country, families and friends, everything they had to leave behind.
I was ashamed of myself for this simple generalization that was stuck in my head, i.e. that all Russians are bad. Yes, many representatives of this nationality actively contribute to the tragedy of Ukraine or simply support the war, but we cannot forget that there are also people who do not agree to what is happening. I think we should always remember this so as not to become like those really bad Russians, i.e. blinded by prejudice, reluctance and hatred.