Watch: Testy Altercation Outside San Ġwann Russian Embassy As Policeman Refuses To Let Protestors Approach
Two protestors confronted a police officer outside Malta’s Russian Embassy in San Ġwann last night after he refused to let them approach the building.
One of the protestors, Artyom Turkoff, filmed the officer stationed outside the embassy telling them to keep their distance and not to approach the building.
“It’s my job to keep it secure,” the officer responded as the protestors retorted that they “have no intention of causing any harm because we aren’t killers like them”.
Turkoff, who has Russian roots, Lithuanian citizenship and Maltese residency, told Lovin Malta that he and his friend visited the embassy at around 8pm last night to show their support to any people protesting against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“We were surprised to see the streets empty and no one else protesting,” he said. “It was like Malta doesn’t care at all. It’s the Russian embassy, some people should be protesting outside it.”
@lovinmaltaofficial What do you make of this? 🧐 #fyp #fypmalta #malta #lovinmalta #sangwann #russianembassy #ukraine #lastnight ♬ original sound – Lovin Malta
Turkoff said the officer insisted they stay away from the embassy and not even approach the building or the wall.
“I understand they’re doing their job and are afraid of potential provocation but it wasn’t our intention to harm or destroy the building and there’s no way we could have climbed the wall anyway. Maybe we just wanted to stand in front of the gates with the posters in our hands and speak but he didn’t even let us approach.”
Turkoff and his friend had better luck on the doorstep of the Russian Cultural Centre in Valletta, where they managed to stick posters denouncing Putin as a war criminal.
“There were just a few waiters there and they were interested in what we were doing and told us they absolutely support us.”
From his experience speaking about the conflict with his friends in Russia, Turkoff warned that the Kremlin’s propaganda machine is extremely well-oiled.
“If you use the word ‘war’ or ‘invasion’ on Russia media, they will block your profile or access to internet, start a police investigation and send requests to Facebook and Google to block your account. When they receive official requests that a law has been broken, they have to comply.”
A recent protest outside the Russian embassy
“We approached the police booth, asked the officer where the other protestors are and whether we could place some small A4 posters on the embassy wall to state that we’re against the war and think Putin is a war criminal. I don’t think we were committing a crime.”
“Most of my friends have similar views so they understand what’s happening but they still don’t understand how severe the situation is and that all of Europe and the world are united against the war,” Turkoff said.
“Russian propaganda is telling people that the sanctions are trying to punish Russian nationals, not allowing them to travel or use ApplePay to ride the bus… making it out as though the world hates Russians and doesn’t understand our mentality.”
“Sometimes you speak to your friends and they don’t believe it’s propaganda or else they tell you that it might be propaganda but so is what we’re seeing on BBC, France24 and other channels.”
“There is a lot of conflict among Russian families in Malta too; parents like watching Russian TV and tell their children that they are being brainwashed by American propaganda and that Putin is saving the world. It’s very deep and very complicated.”
Contacted by Lovin Malta after this confrontation, a police spokesperson said they’ve had a permanent presence outside the Russian Embassy for many years as they do to other embassies.
“It is the duty of the receiving state to provide for the security of embassies of other countries,” they said.
Malta recently joined 37 other countries in referring reports of Russian atrocities in Ukraine to the International Criminal Court, the largest referral in the history of the ICC.
ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan said work looking for possible crimes against humanity or genocide in Ukraine would commence “as rapidly as possible”.
What role should Malta play to help resolve the Russia-Ukraine crisis?
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