Queer Hungarians in Berlin: 'We can finally hold hands in public'

Anti-gay and transgender legislation in Hungary have sparked condemnation of Viktor Orban's government and prompted LGBTQ individuals to leave the country. Some of them have made their way to Berlin.

Gabor and Endre moved to Berlin in 2022

Over the past years, the situation for LGBTQ individuals in many EU countries has improved, even if often only haltingly.  But Hungary is another story. There, homophobia and transphobia have become not only staples of government policy but also national ideology. 

Since the end of 2020, the country's constitution has contained indirectly homophobic passages in addition to the following sentence: "The mother is a woman, the father is a man."  It is also all but illegal for gay couples to adopt children. 

Ahead of a referendum dealing with anti-LGBT topics, the government 

put up posters saying 'Protect our children!'

Moreover, since summer 2021, representing or promoting homosexuality and gender reassignment surgery to or in the presence of people 18 years of age or younger has been criminalized. Critics say the law also equates pedophilia with homosexuality and transgender identities.

DW interviewed queer Hungarians who felt suffocated by Victor Orban's government policies and emigrated to Berlin.

Stay or go? 

"It was a kick in the face when the law limiting information about homosexuality and trans topics entered the books," says 47-year-old Gabor*. The gay film and theater professional moved with his 37-year-old partner, Endre, to Berlin this past June to start a new life.

"Many queer people spend years working to overcome their self-hate. Then they spend a bunch of time fighting to develop their own survival strategies. When they finally reach the point where they can try to live, they get stomped upon by those at the top. That is the moment when you have to decide: Either you let yourself by squashed or you get out of there," Gabor says.

Gabor und Endre in their apartment in late summer 2022

It's easier said than done — and few know this better than Blanka Vay. The 43-year-old Hungarian trans woman left Budapest in back in 2014, when she was still a married man. Blanka had previously served as the Hungarian Green party's spokesperson and worked as a communications manager for Greenpeace. For her, the greatest challenge after emigrating was neither German bureaucracy nor the absence of social connections.

Not an easy start in Berlin

"The reason I had such an expectedly hard start to my new life was definitely my trans identity," she explains. "Berlin is a good place for sexual diversity of all kinds. But gender reassignment surgery is also not easy here. Six years ago, when I came out as a trans woman, I could already speak fluent German, and I had a promising CV. I still couldn't find a job for one and a half years. Then I worked as a bicycle delivery person for another one and half years and basically turned to mush," Vay recalls.  

Blanka Vay presenting her autobiographical book in Budapest in 2021

Today, Blanka works as the chief executive officer of a cooperative. Despite the difficulties she faced, she is thankful to be in a tolerant city like Berlin.

"Even though I was a member of the intellectual and moral elite in Budapest, my networks wouldn't have been strong enough to protect me. I was horrified to see how Hungarians willingly identified with the most appalling and atrocious policies and gave up the basic intellectual questioning that any reasonable person does before they internalize an idea."

Toying with human lives

In Gabor's opinion, President Viktor Orban's anti-LGBTQ policies do nothing less than toy with people's lives. Gabor is lucky: He is an experienced screenplay writer who is doing a postgraduate degree at the German Film and Television Academy, and he will probably find a job in Berlin quickly once he has graduated. 

Another silver lining in the couples' emigration saga: Gabor's spouse, Endre, is a product designer, a profession which is in high demand in the international labor market. He quickly found a permanent position in Berlin, which made it much easier for them to rent an apartment.

A demonstration against homophobia in Budapest in June 2021

A feeling of being abandoned

Things look very different for another Hungarian couple: Viktor and Janos, who moved to the Berlin neighborhood of Schoneberg three months ago. Viktor, 48, is among the many thousands of Hungarian intellectuals who have left their country in the past years for political reasons. He left behind not only his property and his family but also Budapest's art scene,which provided a refuge for him. He even gave up a secure job in a Budapest cultural institution. 

"In Hungary, I felt like I'd been left totally alone. What scared me the most was the level that the political rhetoric sank to. For example, during this past spring's parliamentary election, one of the ruling party's most primitive campaign slogans about the opposition party went: 'They are dangerous. Let them try to stop us!' The communication is at the level of a kindergarten," Viktor, a theater professional, says of his decision. 

Anti-gay demonstrators in Budapest in June 2021 hold up a sign reading

 "Being different is disgusting"

The greatest threat to Hungary? 

For Viktor, the straw that broke the camel's back was the "homophobic" law that equates sexual orientations that deviate from the heterosexual norms and trans identities with pedophilia. 

He also finds it grotesque that public broadcasters, which are tightly censored, have repeatedly hammered home one message over the past year: Hungarian children must be protected from the so-called gender lobby. Prime Minister Orban even recently said in a speech that the greatest threat to Hungary was not the war in neighboring Ukraine but rather migrants and "gender."

Daily life without rights

"I don't understand how something like this can happen. Why don't millions of Hungarians refuse to tolerate being spoken to by the government in such a primitive way?" Viktor asks. "Why don't we laugh at them and vote them out?" But his disappointment over his homeland cannot overshadow the happiness of his life in Berlin.

For him and his partner Janos, a music teacher, walking together through the city continues to be the most wonderful experience.

"We've been together 19 years, and this is the first time that we can stroll around in public holding hands. We may not have been beaten up in Budapest for doing this, but it's about the mental state of gay people who live in Hungary," Viktor says. "You get used to the feeling of not having the right to take a walk while holding hands." 

*Name has been changed. The real name of the subject is known to the author and editor. Four out of five people interviewed by DW (Gabor, Endre, Viktor and Janos) agreed to speak on the condition that their real names not be published.

This article has been translated from German.

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Hungary: Thousands march during Budapest Pride festival

The march comes a year after Hungary passed controversial anti-LGBTQ legislation.  

Hungary orders restrictions on children's books with gay themes

Children's books in Hungary would need to be sold in "closed packaging" if they deal with LGBTQ issues, according to a new decree. The order stems from a law that critics say conflates homosexuality and pedophilia.  

Iran: Rights groups slam death sentences

for LGBTQ activists

Iran is considered one of the most repressive places in the

world for the LGBTQ community, which faces constant

threats, intimidation and widespread social stigma.

Iran is second only to China worldwide when it comes to the number of people sentenced to death

Iran said this week that a court had sentenced to death two female gay rights activists for "spreading corruption on earth" — a charge frequently imposed on people deemed to have broken the country's Shariah laws.

The country's official IRNA news agency reported that the two women, Zahra Sedighi Hamedani, 31, and Elham Chobdar, 24, "misused" women and girls in promising better training and job opportunities abroad — a reference to human trafficking.

A revolutionary court in the country's northwestern city of Urmia, some 600 kilometers (370 miles) northwest of the capital Tehran, handed down the death sentences. The women have the right to appeal.

They were informed of the sentence while in detention in the women's wing of the Urmia jail.

In a short statement, the Iranian judiciary confirmed that the sentences had been issued.
Anger and frustration at the verdict

Law experts say the charge of spreading corruption on earth is particularly vague and that the provision allows Islamic Revolutionary Courts — which handle cases like corruption on earth, enmity against God and drug trafficking — to abuse their legal powers and gives them a free hand in imposing capital punishment.

The verdict was slammed by foreign-based rights groups and activists.

They described the two women as local gay and lesbian rights activists working for the betterment of the LGBTQ community in the Islamic nation.

Many Iranians living abroad also took to social media to express their anger.

6Rang, an Iranian LGBTQ rights group based in Germany, called the verdict against the two women "unfair and unclear" and part of the regime's effort to "spread hatred" in society. The group called for increased global pressure on Tehran to free the two women.

Zahra Sedighi Hamedani (l) and Elham Chobdar (r) were sentenced to death by an Iranian court for "spreading corruption on earth"

The fate of Sedighi Hamedani, also known as Sareh, has been a cause for concern for months.

Sareh was arrested in October by Iranian security forces while trying to flee to Turkey after returning to Iran from Iraqi Kurdistan, where she had been based.

Global human rights watchdog Amnesty International said in January the charges against Sareh stemmed from her activism on social media in defense of gay rights.

She also appeared in a BBC documentary aired in May 2021 about the abuses LGBTQ people suffer in the Kurdistan Region of northern Iraq.

She had decided to leave Iraqi Kurdistan after being detained by the regional authorities.

It appears she crossed into Iran again before trying to head for Turkey.
A repressive place for LGBTQ people

In a video clip shared with her friend prior to her arrest, Sareh said she was "about to cross the border to Turkey" since she was afraid her "life is at risk."

She pointed out that she could be arrested any minute as security forces had identified her and her friends.

"All I wanted was for everyone to know about the pain and suffering the LGBTQ community is enduring in Iran and that we want to be recognized in order to live freely," she said in the video, shared with 6Rang.

"The journey towards freedom may cost our lives, but we are determined to take it and either live in freedom or die," she added.

6Rang said Chobdar, the other Iranian woman sentenced to death, owns a wedding boutique in Urumiya and is a friend of Sareh.

According to the rights group, Chobdar used to talk on her Instagram channel about issues affecting LGBTQ people in Iran, and that's why she was arrested by authorities for "promoting homosexuality."

Shadi Amin, a coordinator for 6Rang, condemned the death sentences as well as the repression faced by the LGBTQ community in Iran.

Homosexuality is illegal in Iran with its penal code explicitly criminalizing same-sex sexual behavior for both men and women.

The country is considered one of the most repressive places in the world for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, who face constant threats, intimidation and widespread social stigma.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi recently described homosexuality as an "ugly and despicable practice" and said it's part of a "propaganda campaign by the West" in Muslim countries.

Call for global pressure on Iran

Amin told DW that the families of the two women were under enormous pressure not to talk to media about the fate of their loved ones and about the "misconduct and torture" they're experiencing in prison.

She called on Germany and other foreign governments to put pressure on Iran for the release of the women. Amin stressed that the international community must do more to put an end to the repression of the LGBTQ community in the Middle East nation.

Under Iranian law, crimes such as murder, rape, drug trafficking and sodomy can lead to capital punishment. Iran is second only to China worldwide when it comes to the number of people sentenced to death.

The UN's independent investigator on human rights in Iran warned last year that the country continues to execute prisoners "at an alarming rate."

Earlier this year, Iran reportedly executed two gay men on charges of sodomy.

Edited by: Srinivas Mazumdaru

Rudy Giuliani says that 9/11 was, in some ways, the greatest day of his life

Kelly McClure Salon
September 09, 2022

Clouds of smoke rise from fires at the World Trade Center Towers as a result of terrorist attack on September 11, 2001 (Dan Howell / Shutterstock.com)

Days before the 21st anniversary of the attacks of 9/11, Rudy Giuliani appeared on Newsmax to discuss what it was like to serve as Mayor of New York City during that time. Looking back at the events that transpired after two planes flew into the twin towers of the World Trade Center, Giuliani describes his feelings as "complex."

"I guess the best way to describe it is it was the worst day of my life and in some ways, you know, the greatest day of my life in terms of my city, my country, my family," Giuliani says.

"It was the worst foreign attack on this country since the war of 1812," Giuliani continued. "It was a complete surprise. It was an attack on completely innocent people and I watched it first-hand."

Describing the first "shocking incident" the former mayor witnessed after the attacks, Giuliani recalls seeing a man jump 101 floors from one of the towers.

"I was transfixed by it," Giuliani says. "All the things that go through your head — why is he doing it? How did he make that choice? Oh my God, can I stop it . . . can I grab him? And then all of a sudden he hit the ground and I watched what happened to his body, which I will not describe."

Giuliani recalls feeling the need to throw out any pre-conceived emergency plans and trudge forward based on instincts alone, and then praying to God that they all hopefully made the right decisions.

"The thing that sticks with me always is the image of the people coming in in the morning to work," Giuliani says. "From people delivering bagels, to people opening up their complicated computer programs, to people just opening little stores. Completely innocent people having nothing to do with the insanity of this attack."

What the full interview segment below:

Rudy Giuliani Discusses the Upcoming 21st Anniversary of 9/11 and the Passing of Queen Elizabeth II

9/11/73

 

How to rescue the German forest

Climate change and drought are threatening the existence of Germany's forests, which are at the very core of the country's sociocultural identity. But the most famous forest ranger says there is hope.



Peter Wohlleben has been working to rescue Germany's forests for 30 years

When Peter Wohlleben sets foot in his local forest in the Eifel region, a raven crows and the 58-year-old can't resist a grin. "I am happy every time I hear him, that is also a conservation success story — 20 years ago the ravens were extinct here," he says.

The country's most famous forest ranger and author of the bestselling book "The Hidden Life of Trees," is clearly in his element. He believes it is not too late to save the German forests.

"Der Deutsche Wald" (The German Forest) has special significance for the country's sociocultural identity. It is the backdrop to historical and to national myths and a metaphor for Germanic culture. It became the landscape of longing in Romantic poems, fairy tales, and legends since the beginning of the 19th century. And in Nazi ideology, the motif of the "German forest" had its place in propaganda comparable to "blood and soil."

IT'S DO OR DIE FOR GERMANY'S FORESTS
The forests are dying
German forests are dying in part due to drier and hotter summers, and heat-loving bark beetle plagues that have destroyed ubiquitous spruce trees. More trees died in Germany in 2020 than in any other previous year, including beech trees planted widely in the past decade for their climate resilience. This week's national forest summit titled "Waldsterben 2.0" (Forest Dieback) asks what can be done.
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Since Wohlleben became the caretaker of his first forest district 30 years ago, forest rescue has become his life's work. Because of climate change, this is becoming more difficult by the day. His prognosis: "We are now in the biggest drought of the last 100 years. I estimate that we will lose half of the forest area in Germany in the next 10 years. The coniferous plantations are now dying out everywhere."

Forest in a critical state

For years, the annual reports on the condition of Germany's forests have been painting shocking pictures. Only one in five trees is without crown damage. The German forest is sick — and there are reasons for that.

"If you want to harvest wood, you first need functioning forests, otherwise there will be hardly any jobs left in the forestry industry in the future. But we are currently carrying out logging at the highest level in decades as if there is no tomorrow. The forestry industry is working in a similar way to the oil industry, only the profit of the next 10- or 20-years counts," Wohlleben criticizes.

Wohlleben wants to leave the forest in peace

It is statements such as these from the famous forester which raise the hackles of many of the 35,000 people employed in Germany's forestry industry, who wonder how they would be able to survive.

Wohlleben's magic formula, on the other hand, is this: protect 20% of natural forest, and cultivate the other 80% with native tree species. And his credo: the forest can only be saved if it is left alone. He points to the area around the Ukrainian nuclear power plant of Chernobyl as the best example of this — 36 years after the nuclear catastrophe, the real wilderness has emerged there again.

Thirty years after the nuclear accident forced an evacuation of Prypjat, has been overgrown with trees and shrubs

"In places where the deciduous forest is allowed to grow undisturbed, it cools down by 10 degrees in comparison with the open landscape. The forest has been doing this for 300 million years by itself. Forestry, on the other hand, has only been around for 300 years — not even half of a tree's lifespan. And it has not yet proven that it can do things better."

Peter Wohlleben is celebrated by his growing fan base for such statements.The Forest Academy he set up is booming and German Economy Minister Robert Habeck, appointed last year, has already taken a walk with him through the woods. The one-day workshop "Forest in climate change" which costs 98 euros ($99.50) is just as in-demand as the crash course on species identification or the training to become a forest guide. The funds go toward protecting the trees and for Wohlleben's primeval forest project, in which buyers sponsor their own protected area for 50 years.

The Teutoburg Forest is one of the central places in German mythology

The Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture led by the Green Party politician Cem Özdemir wants to invest 900 million euros in climate-adapted forest management — focusing on adapting German forests to cope with heat and drought. Nature's air conditioning, as Özdemir calls the forests, is increasingly in danger.
Calls for — unpopular — action

Christian Ammer is among the biggest critics of Wohlleben. The forest scientist and professor of silviculture and forest ecology in temperate zones at the University of Göttingen launched an online petition against Wohlleben's bestselling book five years ago because it mixed facts with speculation. This does not stop him from simultaneously praising Wohlleben's dedication: "He has my respect because he made the topic of forests popular."

"We agree to disagree" is how Ammer laconically describes their exchanges. The two are not so far apart, however, because they share a common goal: to stop clear-cutting in Germany's forests. Ammer also calls for unpopular actions: "Of course, forestry will also have to adapt. The question remains whether, if less wood comes on the market, it would then be replaced by more energy-intensive products such as reinforced concrete. Would we really be reducing our consumption, or would we end up importing wood from other countries where it might not be used sustainably?"

According to Ammer, Germany needs eight times as much forest to capture its current annual CO2 emissions.

He says urgent action is needed now: "We have to fundamentally change our mobility and consumption behavior if we want to halt the progress of climate change."

This article was originally written in German.

While you're here: Every Tuesday, DW editors round up what is happening in German politics and society. You can sign up here for the weekly email newsletter Berlin Briefing.

Pakistan floods: UN chief denounces 'climate carnage' in hard-hit areas

UN chief Antonio Guterres blamed climate change for devastating flooding in Pakistan, which has left nearly 1,400 people dead. He said the country needs "massive financial support" to recover from the catastrophe.


Antonio Guterres was accompanied by Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif on his visit to hard-hit areas

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Saturday toured some of the areas worst damaged by flooding in Pakistan.

Guterres, on his second day of a two-day visit to the country, visited Sukkur district in southern Sindh province and Osta Mohammad in southwestern Baluchistan province.

The UN chief also visited camps for displaced flood victims in Larkana district in Sindh as well.

Antonio Guterres met with Pakistanis displaced by flooding and living in temporary camps

What did Guterres say on the visit?

Guterres said he had seen many humanitarian disasters in the world, but had never "seen climate carnage on this scale."

"I have simply no words to describe what I have seen today," Guterres told reporters in Karachi, Pakistan's largest city and the capital of Sindh.

He said Pakistan needed "massive financial support to overcome this crisis," adding that it was not a matter of "generosity, this is a matter of justice."

Guterres appealed for massive international support for the country shortly after arrival Friday, saying that he was in the South Asian nation to express his support with the Pakistani people and that initial estimates suggested losses of around $30 billion (€29.5 billion).

Guterres has previously repeatedly called attention to the effects of climate change and on Saturday said it was important to "stop the madness which we played with nature."

He said the UN would use its limited resources to help and request that "those who have the capacity to support Pakistan, do it now and do it massively."

Guterres' comments came after he was briefed by the chief minister of Singh province, Murad Ali Shah, on the destruction and challenges of the area.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and some of his Cabinet members also accompanied the UN's top official during his visit.

Pakistan floods affect millions

With nearly 1,400 deaths and some 33 million affected, floods in Pakistan have massively disrupted life in the country.

Vast swaths of the country remain under water, with severe damage to property and farmlands adding to the challenge of coping with the devastation.

The UN has launched an appeal for $160 million (€158 million) in aid to help Pakistan, while the UAE and US are among countries that have provided the most aid so far.

rm/wd (Reuters, AFP, AP)

Switzerland plans controversial nuclear waste storage facility near German border

A plan for a nuclear waste storage facility in Switzerland is raising safety concerns among Germans close to the border. The project, which is backed by power plant operators, requires approval by the Swiss government.



Haberstal could become a new storage site for nuclear waste by around 2050

Switzerland has announced plans to build a nuclear waste storage facility on the border with Germany, leaving communities concerned about the issues of safety and clean drinking water supply.

The National Cooperative for the Disposal of Radioactive Waste (Nagra) is behind the proposal. It suggested the region of Nördlich Lägern, north of Zurich and close to the border with Germany, the Swiss Federal Office of Energy said.

Nagra was set up by power plant operators alongside the Swiss government to deal with the controversial question of how to dispose of radioactive waste.
How can the safety of the waste be guaranteed?

The waste would be embedded in opalinus clay several hundred meters underground according to Patrick Studer, an official at Nagra.

"The required confinement time is around 200,000 years for high-level waste and around 30,000 years for low-level and intermediate-level waste," Nagra's website stated.

The waste will be sourced from five Swiss nuclear power plants. Medical and industrial sectors will also be allowed to contribute their waste.

At the moment, four nuclear power plants are active in Switzerland. They may continue their operation as long as their safety is guaranteed. This would mean into the 2040s.

However, the so-called deep geological repository for spent nuclear fuel and other radioactive waste needs to be approved by both the Swiss government and parliament. This process is expected to take several years.

German communities and officials remain concerned

Concerns among German communities along the border are running high. Their concerns are primarily about the issues of safety and drinking water supply.

"The question of drinking water protection is a major concern to the population," said Martin Steinebrunner from the German coordination office for the planned waste facility.

The German Federal Ministry for the Environment has criticized Switzerland's decision to build a nuclear waste repository right on the border to Germany.

The proximity of the planned site near the Baden-Württemberg village of Hohentengen "poses a problem both during the construction phase and during the operation of the repository," said Christian Kühn, Parliamentary State Secretary in the Environment Ministry and and a member of the German parliament (Bundestag) from Baden-Württemberg.

At the same time Kühn stressed that it was "right and important" that geology be the decisive criterion for the site of a repository.

There were two other sites to choose from, which are also very close to the German border.

In Germany, the decision for a dedicated repository site for highly radioactive nuclear waste will not be discussed until 2031 at the earliest.

Long process before start of construction

It is still unclear where the nuclear waste will be prepared and packaged for final storage should the waste storage facility be approved.

Nagra has said it will submit a planning application by 2024. The Swiss government then makes a decision on the application, and parliament must consent afterwards.

Taking this process into consideration, it is unlikely for the start of the storage facility to be anytime before around 2050.

los/wd (dpa, Reuters, AFP)

St. Petersburg district councillors accuse Putin of treason

Several lawmakers from a district council are openly opposing Putin's war on Ukraine and facing serious consequences for it. DW spoke with two of them.

Smolninskoye councilors holding a public session in early March 2022

Councilors in Smolninskoye, a district of St. Petersburg, the city where Vladimir Putin was born, have accused the Russian president of treason.

On Sept. 7, they petitioned the Russian parliament's lower chamber, the State Duma, to remove President Putin from office over the war on Ukraine – even though Russians are not allowed to call it that. Instead, they must refer to the war as a "special military operation."

Nikita Yuferyev joined the Smolninskoye council in 2019. When Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, he and other lawmakers from across the political spectrum requested permission to stage anti-war protests that very day. Permission was denied. 

On March 2, Yuferyev and his colleagues invited St. Petersburg residents to join an open council session. "Many people showed up, but so did the police and OMON [national guard units]. There were many officers in helmets and prison transport vans but things remained calm," Yuferyev told DW. "We agreed to send an appeal to President Putin, urging him to end the special operation." The appeal went unanswered.

St. Petersbug lawmaker Nikita Yuferyev has called on Putin to end the war in Ukraine

In August, Yuferyev himself sent a personal message to Putin, calling on him to end the "special military operation" for humanitarian reasons. This time, the Kremlin responded, justifying the war as "a special military operation to demilitarize and denazify Ukraine."

Acting against Russian interests?

Yuferyev's fellow lawmaker Dmitry Palyuga then tabled a draft petition on Sept. 7 intended for the State Duma. Both men stress they acted entirely in accordance with Russian law. "So far, there has been no precedent for a conviction following a petition sent to a state body. In fact, Russian law rules out this possibility," Palyuga tells DW.

He says he developed the idea of sending the petition after seeing considerable criticism of the invasion of Ukraine expressed on social media, including on pro-Kremlin Telegram channels. Many accused their president of acting "against Russia's interests."

In July, Alexei Gorinov, a Moscow politician, was sentenced to seven years behind bars for "spreading falsehoods" about Russia's armed forces. Palyuga is well aware of Gorinov's case and knows speaking out against Putin can have serious consequences. "We know we are taking a risk, but we feel this is the right thing to do," he told DW.

Treason?

Yuferyev and Palyuga published their petition on Twitter, for all to see. It says that according to Russia's constitution, Putin's conduct shows signs of "treason."

It mentions four aspects in particular: The destruction of combat-ready Russian army units, the death and injury of young, easily employable Russian citizens, harm to the Russian economy, and the expansion of NATO upon the outbreak of the war, alongside the equipping of Ukrainian forces with modern Western military kit, which actually undermines the objective of "demilitarizing" the country anyway.

"We do not see NATO expansion as a direct threat to Russia, but we are trying to appeal to different target groups [within Russia] with different arguments, to convince them that this whole thing has to end," says Yuferyev.

He adds that half of all the St. Petersburg council members — among them the leader of the pro-Kremlin United Russia party — were absent when the body voted to submit the petition. But bylaws state that with 10 city councillors present, the vote could go ahead in accordance with Russian law. Ultimately, seven of the councillors approved the petition.

An appeal to all Russians

When asked what sort of reaction he and his colleagues were expecting, Yuferyev said that, "our appeal, although technically directed at Russia's top decisionmakers, is not really aimed at them. We know they will either not respond at all or they'll respond with something nonsensical." He says the petition is really about rallying Russians who are just as concerned as them. "We want to show them that there are many of us, who are against what is going on." 

Dmitriy Palyuga tabled the draft petition intended for the State Duma

Palyuga has a similar opinion."We did this mainly to show other people, who also oppose what is happening in this country, that there are elected officials who also oppose this and that these officials are prepared to say so loudly," he told DW. 

There have already been consequences. Both men have now been told to report to the police to answer charges of "discrediting the armed forces."

"If they want to punish us, they will," Yuferyev said. "But what are we supposed to do? Remain silent?"

Yuferyev is convinced most Russians are not "militants."

"We were all brought up by a generation who had experienced World War II," he argued. "Our grandparents always said, 'as long as there's no war.' They are talking about a 'special operation' here but people are starting to realize what's really happening, how many deaths there are. Our people are peaceful and I think that people in Russia will soon start to reject what is happening," he concluded.

This article was originally published in Russian. 

Kherson: Ukraine battles to reclaim the gateway to Crimea

Russia occupied the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson early on in its invasion. Now, Kyiv's counteroffensive is trying to recapture the strategically important area.

The Antonovsky Bridge in Kherson bears the traces of Ukraine's recent rocket attacks

It started with holes in the pavement. Cellphone videos from July 19 show the impact of rockets that struck the Antonovsky Bridge, one of the largest and most important in Kherson.

With the southern Ukrainian city currently controlled by Russian troops, the Ukrainian army has been deploying the HIMARS precision missile system in the area. Kyiv has been using these weapons, which arrived recently from the US, to fire upon the 1,366-meter (4,482 feet) bridge, disrupting logistics for the Russian troops located on the right bank of the Dnieper, Ukraine's largest river. These attacks, and similar ones that followed, paved the way for Ukraine's counteroffensive, which began in August. 

Other bridges, along with Russian weapons depots in the region, have been consistently targeted since then. In early September, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that various towns had been recaptured. The fight for Kherson could become one of the most crucial events of the war in the coming months.

Struggle for fresh water in Crimea

Russia captured the entire Kherson region during the early days of the invasion. Military resistance was minimal, and the region's capital city, Kherson, home to some 280,000 people, was occupied in early March.

Amateur videos show how Ukrainian civilians, most of whom speak Russian, protested the Russian troops. No other region of Ukraine was occupied so quickly. It remains unclear how this was possible, and the question remains a painful one for the government in Kyiv.

Ukrainians protested against Russia's takeover of Kherson in the early days of the invasion

The region of Kherson extends some 28,500 square kilometers (11,000 square miles), making it nearly as large as Belgium. The landscape is characterized by steppes — wide open spaces as far as the eye can see. Viewed strategically, it may well be the most important region of southern Ukraine due to its access to two seas: the Sea of Azov in the east and the Black Sea in the west. 

More importantly: the region of Kherson offers the only land connection to Crimea. It is the gateway to the peninsula that Russia annexed in 2014 — and this gateway has remained largely open during the Russian invasion. No bridges were blown up, which could have halted troop deployments. Large Russian units in Crimea were able to advance hundreds of kilometers to the north.

Russia's principal goal during that operation was likely gaining control of the North Crimean Canal, which starts near the city of Nova Kakhovka, some 80 kilometers east of Kherson, and ends in the Crimean city of Kerch. The peninsula is chronically short of water; ever since Soviet times, it has received fresh water from the Dnieper via this canal. Following the annexation, Ukraine stopped this water flow, which led to problems for the peninsula's water-intensive agriculture industry. In response, Russia blew up a dam that had been built in 2014, once again restoring the water supply.

Crimea receives fresh water via the North Crimean Canal. Supply cutoffs following

 Russia's annexation resulted in shortfalls

By occupying Kherson and other cities near the mouth of the Dnieper, the Russian army was also simultaneously able to block Ukraine's all-important water access to the Black Sea.

Kherson known for shipbuilding and watermelons

Kherson is best known for its shipbuilding industry. The city at the mouth of the Dnieper was founded at the end of the 18th century, when the region was part of the Russian Empire. It was named after the ancient Greek settlement Chersonesus in Crimea.

Kherson is home to the oldest seaport on Ukraine's Black Sea coast, and it is where the first warships for the Russian Black Sea fleet were built. Since Soviet times, Kherson has specialized in civilian freight ships, including tankers. In February 2022, just a few days before the Russian invasion, the shipyard announced it had signed a contract for the construction of four cargo ships for the Netherlands. 

When Ukrainians think of Kherson, however, the first thing that comes to mind is not ships, but watermelons and tomatoes. Kherson watermelons are particularly legendary. Every year, starting in August, Ukrainian stores are full of the sweet fruit — though not this year. Across social networks, photos of Ukrainian soldiers holding a watermelon in their hands have become a symbol of territorial recapture.

Watermelons from Kherson are well-known across Ukraine

The Kherson region is famous for its cultivation of fruits and vegetables. It boasts some 2 million hectares of agricultural land — the most in all of Ukraine, and nearly twice as much as in the Netherlands. It should come as no surprise that the first Ukrainian ketchup manufacturer, Chumak, was founded there in 1993, in the city of Kakhovka. The company, which was started by two Swedes, is considered one of independent Ukraine's success stories. Its website proudly notes that it owns Europe's largest cucumber field. 

Kakhovka was occupied by Russian troops during the first days of the war. Chumak, currently number two on the Ukrainian market, halted production and moved its headquarters to Kyiv.

No quick path to victory

Due to its location near Crimea, Russia is likely to put up a strong defense of the occupied territory of Kherson and the North Crimean Canal in particular. Observers in Ukraine and the West expect a long fight, and reckon Ukraine will not launch a frontal offensive due to insufficient forces.

Instead, it is thought that Kyiv will attempt to push out Russian troops through local attacks. In addition to freeing various villages, Ukraine's counteroffensive also scored an additional victory: Earlier this week, a "referendum" for unification with Russia, modeled after a similar vote in Crimea in 2014, was postponed until further notice.

This article has been translated from German.

Opinion: Tories gave Queen Elizabeth II an unfitting end

Starting with Winston Churchill, Queen Elizabeth saw 15 prime ministers — just. Her final act was replacing a cheerful moral vacuum with a poser with no panache. DW's Mark Hallam struggles to imagine a less fitting end.

As one of her final acts, Elizabeth welcomed Liz Truss as Britain's next prime minister

Let's just hope that the end was so near earlier this week that Queen Elizabeth II failed to grasp quite how precarious a bind her beloved Britain was in at the hour of her passing. 

Alas, given the queen's famed knack for perception and reading others, and her acuity even in advanced age, that seems unlikely. 

DW's Mark Hallam writes that the queen deserved a better final week of life

On consecutive days, the 96-year-old geared up for her last official appointments. 

First, she ejected Prime Minister Boris Johnson, a morally bankrupt mountebank with nothing but the gift of the gab — which, granted, he occasionally deploys amusingly or eloquently. 

Then, the queen appointed Liz Truss, a woman almost five decades her junior and with all the charisma of a cabbage. The last person standing in a grueling and pointless Conservative uncivil war of Brexit-fueled attrition that cast a pall over roughly 10 of the last years of Elizabeth's reign all told.

Truss must now lead the UK through the aftermath of a global pandemic, amid the potential for outbreak of a global conflict, and facing a level of inflation unseen since her teenage years in the early 1990s.

The prime minister will have the less popular, less emotionally robust, more politically opinionated and similarly inexperienced King Charles III to help shoulder that burden. And he'll be just itching to make a difference after more than half a century waiting in the wings. What could possibly go wrong? 

From Jubilee to Conservative limbo to the grave

The last two months of her reign were marred by the two-penny political theater of a Conservative leadership contest, dragged out for an excruciating two months in the middle of spiking inflation, an energy crisis and a hot war in Europe. 

The country was forced to stand still and wait for 200,000 Conservative Party members to decide which immature lightweight least resembled the dregs of a Tory barrel Brexit scraped bare years ago. 

The comments Truss and Johnson made after Elizabeth's death spoke volumes. 

Truss, more one for posing in flashy Instagram photos than for public speaking or debate, faced her first epochal press conference far sooner than she would have liked. 

Her flat, faltering, empty delivery at least struck the tone of someone in pain. But Truss, eyes glued to her text, hit none of the high points of a perfectly well-crafted address — her monotone unwavering whether talking of the "dark days ahead" or "the rock on which modern Britain was built" or "through thick and thing [sic]" or about how "we are all devastated by the news we have just heard from Balmoral." 

No Winston Churchill

Which brings us to exhibit B: Boris Johnson.

Johnson, who often can capture a mood in a pithy phrase, wrote of a "deep and personal sense of loss — far more intense, perhaps, than we expected."

On seeing the flowery and effusive farewell from so charming a cad, the veteran British satirist Tom Jamieson addressed Johnson on Twitter: "Britain will never forget that image of The Queen sat alone at her husband's funeral to show the country she stood with them, whilst your mob in Downing Street partied. What a loathsome disgrace to the country you were." 

One hopes, rather fervently, that, in their weekly and entirely private audiences, the queen once had the chance to say to Boris what very few could with a straight face. Hopefully, the keen student of modern politics and history channeled US Senator Lloyd Bentsen's rebuke of Dan Quayle, and told Johnson — who also wrote perhaps the worst biography of Churchill among a great many who have tried — that he was a cheap imitation of her first prime minister:

"Prime minister, I served with Winston Churchill. I knew Winston Churchill. Winston Churchill was a friend of mine. Prime minister, you're no Winston Churchill."

I for one choose to believe this might have been said. Not that Boris Johnson would have been listening. 

Edited by: Milan Gagnon


ELIZABETH II: THE LIFE OF A QUEEN
Mourning Elizabeth II
"Grief is the price we pay for love," Queen Elizabeth II once said. Now the world mourns her — the Queen of Great Britain and Northern Ireland died on Thursday after 70 years as sovereign. The queen saw the disintegration of the British Empire, appointed 15 prime ministers and weathered turbulent times in her family.
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• Date 09.09.2022