Kremlin press secretary: Those criticizing war are not 'real' Russians
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov on Friday said that citizens who were speaking out against the war are not "real" Russians.
"A real Russian is not ashamed that he is Russian - and if he is ashamed, then he is not Russian and is not with us," Peskov said, The Washington Post reported.
The comments have come as more than 13,000 Russians have been detained for protesting the war, OVD-Info, a protest monitoring group, has said.
Other Russians are leaving the country for Europe over their anger with the Russian government's actions against Ukraine, according to The Post.
Russia has been leading a propaganda campaign in an attempt to convince citizens Russia rightfully invaded Ukraine, either to save the Ukrainian people or to prevent Ukraine from attacking Russia.
News outlets are not allowed to run information contrary to what the Russian government gives them and posts online that speak ill of the government are deleted.
Russian media has not told its citizens the true number of casualties in the war or shown any pictures of the destruction in Ukraine.
In a generational divide, a vast majority of older people are supporting the war while younger generations are opposed, The Washington Post reported.
