From DW:
“Schwarzenegger to Putin: 'You
can stop this war now'”
Film icon and former politician
Arnold Schwarzenegger recalls his Nazi father in an impassioned plea to the
Russian people, saying they have been lied to about the war in Ukraine. "This
is an illegal war,'' said Schwarzenegger in a rousing nine-minute video posted
Thursday that has already been viewed almost 22 million times on Twitter.
"Your lives, your limbs, your futures are being sacrificed for a senseless
war condemned by the entire world.'' Subtitled in Russian, the video has also
been posted on YouTube and Instagram, which are currently blocked in Russia,
but also on the Telegram messaging app that can still be accessed. The former
world bodybuilding champion spoke of his "affection and respect for the
people of Russia" — with whom he is very popular through a long
association with the country. But he warned that "there are things going
on in the world that have been kept from you, terrible things that you should
know about."
A great Russian inspiration Schwarzenegger
also spoke of how as a young bodybuilder he was inspired by a Russian: world
weightlifting championship, Yury Petrovich Vlasov, who he met as a 14-year-old
boy in Vienna. "I went home and put his photo above my bed,"
Schwarzenegger recalled. "It inspired me when I started lifting weights,
but it angered my father. He didn't like Russians, because of his experience in
the Second World War." Having fought for the Nazi army during the
failed Siege of Leningrad (current day Saint Petersburg), Schwarzenegger's
father believed German propaganda about the Russians, although the Germans
"did vicious harm to that great city and to its brave people." But
the young teenager refused his father's order to take down Petrovich's picture.
"It didn't matter to me what flag he carried," he said.
'Spread the truth' Warning
Russian troops currently fighting in Ukraine for a lie — they have been sent to
"de-Nazify" a country with a Jewish president, whose three uncles
were murdered in the Holocaust — Schwarzenegger said his father was
"broken physically and mentally" when he returned from fighting in
Leningrad. As the video shows bombed-out streets in Ukraine and the
shelling of civilians, the former governor of California called on the Russian
people to "spread the truth," so that fellow citizens "know the
human catastrophe that is happening in Ukraine." He also appealed
to Russian President Vladimir Putin — the "Terminator" star is one of
only 22 people the leader's official account follows on Twitter: "You
started this war. You're leading this war. You can stop this war now."
Schwarzenegger also made special mention
of Russians protesting the war in the face of police brutality and arrests. "The
world has seen your bravery," he said. "You are my new heroes. You
have the strength of Yury Petrovich Vlasov. You have the true heart of
Russia." "This came from Arnold's heart, not the
government," said Schwarzenegger spokesman, Daniel Ketchel, when quizzed
by the New York Times about the motivation for the post. US Secretary of
State Antony Blinken referred to the address in a Tweet also pitched to Russian
citizens. "As @Schwarzenegger explains," Blinken wrote, "we do
not blame the people of Russia, and we need you to know what your government is
hiding from you."
^ I saw this video and it is both
very to the point as well as very personal. You can see it from the above link.
^
https://www.dw.com/en/schwarzenegger-to-putin-you-can-stop-this-war-now/a-61170944
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