Morning Walk #22

#SupportUkraine

Mar 06, 2022

Hi. I’m Stepa Mitaki. Morning Walk is a personal weekly newsletter where I share some musings on tech, working on startups, productivity and some nerdy stuff.

This issue was sent out to 73 subscribers (+4 from the previous week). Last week’s issue received 286 views.

Unfortunately, this newsletter won't cover any tech, startup, or business-related issues for the foreseeable future. It's simply impossible to even think about when the war is unfolding. And my country is the aggressor.

So much has happened within that one week. People in Russia are trying to fight back Putin's regime, but his army of police officers, judges, and lawmakers are fighting Russians aggressively. Last week we took to the streets, but more than 6,000 got arrested. My friend's sister is still at a pre-trial detention cell after almost a week there and being threatened by the police aggressively.

We tried to spread the word as much as possible, but this happened on March 4th:

Amnesty International @amnesty

⚡️ The Russian Duma has fast-tracked a law criminalising people for debunking lies and exposing war crimes in #Russia. The law introduces astronomical fines and up to 15 years in prison for "spreading fake news" or for calling for sanctions for the Russian war in #Ukraine.

This is for real. If you are Russian and you post on social media "Stop the war," you will be sentenced to prison. Best case scenario – three years in prison, worst-case scenario – fifteen years. And obviously, the law is very vague. Putin has shut up an entire country within one day.

Those who fleed the country are not shutting up, but Putin’s puppets are coming for their families too.

It seems like Putin has already taken hostage all of the Russians, but brave Ukrainians are standing against him.

👓 Things I've been reading/watching/enjoying

Putin Will Lose, Here’s Why (28 mins)

My favorite investigative journalist Johnny Harris published a video on Putin's invasion yesterday.

This is a really, really good summary of how Putin views the World and how this war is unfolding. Take 30 minutes aside and watch it.

I especially like that Johnny carefully researched all sides, even official Russian propaganda. The thing about neonazis in Ukraine is real, but they are not controlling the government as Putin is claiming.