Protesting the Draft…Famous Russian Rapper ‘Just Before Suicide’ Shudders at Putin’s Testament

〈When you are watching this video, I will not already be alive. I am not prepared to kill people in Ukraine.

The message was left on the social networking site Telegram by a famous Russian rapper, Mr. Walky (real name Ivan Vitalievich Petunin, 27). According to The Sun, Walky took his own life by jumping off a high-rise building in Krasnodar, southern Russia, on September 30. It is believed that he committed suicide in protest against the call up of reserve forces by President Vladimir Putin’s Partial Mobilization Order.

In the “Telegram” video, he also said

I cannot and do not want my soul to be guilty of murder. No matter what ideals are spoken of, I am not prepared to kill anyone. As someone who did not support the horrors that are happening right now, I hope that I will forever be etched on people’s hearts.

‘Folding Arms’ Becomes Trending Word

Mr. Walky, who made his debut in 2003, has released 10 albums to date. This year, he has continued to release works energetically, with his most popular song having 2 million views on the Internet. He was a highly influential artist among Russia’s youth.

President Putin intends to conscript 300,000 men up to the age of 55. However, domestic opposition to the overly aggressive and indiscriminate mobilization order is growing stronger by the day, especially among young people. Protests have been held frequently in the capital, Moscow, and other cities. The search term “how to fold your arms” is trending on the Internet as a means of evading the draft. It is said that as many as one million people have fled the country to neighboring Georgia and other countries,” said a reporter from the international section of a national newspaper.

Mr. Walky, who protested against the draft, also left a “testament” on his smartphone. In it, he wrote a strong message to President Putin.

Putin has given us three choices. To become a murderer. To rebel and go to jail. Refuse them both and take your own life. Suicide is my final expression of protest. I pray from heaven that you will all get through these dark and depressing times together.

Itsuro Nakamura, a professor emeritus at Tsukuba University and an expert on the situation in Russia, commented.

It is the first time since World War II that a mobilization order has been issued in Russia. For young people in Russia, the conflict in Ukraine has seemed to be a matter of concern for others. But with the mobilization order, it has become all at once familiar to them. The taking of human life has become a very real possibility. This is probably the biggest reason for the growing opposition to President Putin in Russia.

There have been numerous comments on the Russian Internet in remembrance of Walky and in protest of the authorities.