Why we should not forgive artists and politicians for fleeing during the war
If we are talking about non-public people who, for various reasons, left Ukraine before or during Russia's large-scale invasion (for objective reasons) and who do not claim to participate in governance, in socially important processes, to lead public opinion, or to perform any socially important function, I do not condemn such people. I treat them with understanding .
But those who fled the country and before that were politicians, public figures, previously positioned themselves as participating in the country's governance or at least claiming to do so, and raised socially significant issues should be ostracized.
In ancient Greece, there was a type of punishment for defectors: deprivation of citizenship, eviction, and exile. People who had committed a crime against the polis were not accepted back, and their civil rights were not recognized.
I do not propose to deprive fugitives from Ukraine of citizenship en masse. But I believe that our society can afford, in the conditions of wartime and post-war reconstruction, institutions that would make it impossible for people who fled Ukraine during the war to return to active political life or conduct artistic activity on the territory of Ukraine.
They have no right to make money in Ukraine! Neither political capital nor financial capital.
These people chose to leave. So even if they return, we must do everything to ensure that they do not have any influence in our country. Such sanctions could include deprivation of the right to be elected, restrictions on other political rights.