What is Demokrati-JA?

The play on words in our name means ‘Yes to Democracy’ or ‘Democracy starts with me’.

Demokrati-JA is a Russian expatriate community in Berlin, formed in the wake of the protests of early 2021 in connection with Alexei Navalny’s return to Russia. Since February 2022 we have been actively involved in the global anti-war movement of Russian grassroots initiatives. With every step we take, we strive to bring the end of Putin’s criminal regime closer and create conditions for democratic transformation in Russia. The way to achieve this, we believe, is through civic education and community development and support.

About us

Demokrati-JA is a team of civic activists of Russian origin who have been living in Germany for many years or for a relatively short time. We have diverse professional backgrounds: human rights, linguistics, IT, research, education, economics, etc. We speak Russian, German and English, which allows us to build bridges between different cultures and communities. We are united by our commitment to the values of European democracy and humanism. We see our mission in establishing and strengthening links between the islands of Russian civil society and the democratic structures of Germany.

Our position

First of all, we demand an immediate end to the Russian’s war of aggression in Ukraine and the withdrawal of Russian troops from all occupied territories. We strongly oppose dictatorship, repression and propaganda.

In the long run, we want to see Russia as a free, democratic, peaceful state under the rule of law with a strong civil society. An indispensable condition for achieving this will be a deep reflection and comprehension of the history of Russian (Soviet) imperialism, colonialism and totalitarianism.

We are firmly committed to the foundations of the free democratic system of the Federal Republic of Germany and to the principles of solidarity and co-existence of the people living here, regardless of their origin.

Our activities

Our work is currently focused on building a solidarity-based diasporic civil society capable of resisting and ultimately defeating authoritarianism. To this end, we:

  • organise protests and solidarity actions
  • organise meetings, discussions and events on topical issues
  • maintain a dialogue with German society and its political representatives, write appeals and petitions

We stand with Ukraine

We fully and unconditionally support Ukraine in its defensive struggle against the Russian occupation. Accepting our own responsibility for the actions of the aggressor country, of which most of us are still citizens, we endeavour to help the victims of aggression by all means at our disposal.

We firmly believe that all perpetrators of war crimes must be punished and that Russia will be obliged to pay reparations to Ukraine after the war is over. As residents of Germany, we demand that German and Western politicians increase their comprehensive assistance to Ukraine, including military aid. We also call on German voters not to believe populist promises of a quick but fragile peace through the surrender of the victim country.

Demokrati-JA is a member of associations

Our partners