Opinion: Russian liberals who fled to the West lack sense of responsibility

Columnist Viktoria Ladõnskaja-Kubits analyses the attitude of Russian liberals operating in the West towards their fellow citizens. In her view, Russian politicians and media figures in exile treat their compatriots as subjects rather than equals. This problem is evident in statements made at the Cannes festival, disputes among émigrés, and in newly created Russian-language media platforms in Europe.

Columnist Viktoria Ladõnskaja-Kubits raises a sharp question: why are Russian liberals who fled to the West unable to take responsibility before their fellow citizens?

A common thread in repeated mistakes

The emotional reactions heard at the Cannes film festival, public disputes among Russian opposition politicians operating in the West, and linguistic missteps in newly established Russian-language media platforms in Europe all point to the same underlying problem. In all these situations, the Russian liberal diaspora treats its fellow citizens not as equals, but as subjects — as objects of someone else's will, things done to them, rather than things discussed with them.

The absence of responsibility is a deeper problem

Ladõnskaja-Kubits notes that this is not an isolated mistake — it is a systemic attitude. Russian intellectuals, journalists and politicians in exile in the West are indeed opposed to Putin's regime, but have failed to reconsider their relationship with the ordinary Russian citizen. They are treated either as victims or as accomplices, not as people with full political agency.

This behaviour limits the credibility of the Western Russian-language opposition and their ability to offer an alternative to the Kremlin's narrative. When the émigré opposition repeats authoritarian language — even with the best of intentions — it loses the moral clarity upon which its entire legitimacy is based.