Voices Against Putin’s War: protesters’ defiant speeches in Russian courts, is published in October 2025 by Resistance Books.
□ Order the paperback from Resistance Books here.
□ Download a free PDF here.
Voices Against Putin’s War features speeches in court by ten people who opposed Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine, and were handed long jail sentences for doing so. It also includes statements by two accused made outside court; a summary of 17 other anti-war protesters’ speeches in Russian courts; letters and interviews; and a survey of political repression in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine’s occupied territories, of which these jailings are part.
□ “These speeches and statements bear witness to the determination of the human spirit not to be silenced” – John McDonnell MP, in the Foreword
□ “Could hardly be more timely” – Rights in Russia
□ “These individuals are just a fraction of the thousands detained by the Russian regime” – Labour Hub
“Unfortunately, the final courtroom speech has become something like a literary genre in its own right. This tells us a lot about the difficult and fearful times we are living through.” – Simon Pirani, who edited the book, on Posle.Media
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TRY ME FOR TREASON: readings from anti-war protesters’ speeches in Russian courts
ANOTHER CHANCE TO SEE THESE POWERFUL READINGS IN LONDON …
□ Download a printable PDF flyer for that event here.
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Film of our book launch event on Thursday 20 November in London:
The collection at this event was donated to Fires of Freedom (supporting Ruslan Siddiqi), Solidarity Zone (supporting Igor Paskar, Alexei Rozhkov, Kirill Butylin and others) and We Bohdan Ziza.
Any profits from sales of Voices Against Putin’s war will go to Memorial: Support Political Prisoners.
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Thousands of people – Ukrainians, Russians and others – are serving lengthy jail sentences for protesting against Russia’s war on Ukraine. Some were jailed for actions, such as firebombing military recruitment centres (when they were closed, injuring nobody). Some were jailed for writing a few words on social media. TRY ME FOR TREASON tells the story of some who used their final statement in court not to appeal for mercy, but to call on their fellow citizens to take action against the war. Organised by the Ukraine Information Group.
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Ukraine Information Group 