I did a volunteer medical trip to western Siberia in the early days post breakup of the Soviet Union….. to a prison hospital. I was a 50 year old nurse who thought I understood what a democracy meant. My naïveté left me as I learned that many of the patient/prisoners were inmates at gulags. A number of them were political prisoners. Many, undoubtedly, spoke against the government and thus were imprisoned. Now I understand how the same could happen here in the U.S. Freedom of speech is in jeopardy. The rule of law is in jeopardy. Our freedoms are in jeopardy. Thank you Viktor for reminding us that we must be vigilant and fight back to preserve our democracy.
Yes they are already pulling people off the streets and basically sending them to exile with deportations to countries that are not their country where they do not know anyone leta lone speak the language and even here in the USA they are being held in detention centers but their attorneys do not know where they are. Our protests in the streets must continue until we have reclaimed congress (house and senate) so things can be stopped and reverse to begin to bring democracy back
I just heard Brett Meiselas report today that he saw "missing" signs posted all over the Silverlake district in LA, posted by people who were searching for missing friends and family who had disappeared. We could be in far worse trouble faster than anyone thinks.
Here's a reminder from Hitler's rise to power—and remember, Peter Thiel's Palantir is putting together all the info Musk downloaded from our govt. databases (IRS, Social Security, Medicare, etc.). Next step, total digital surveillance, a tool the Nazis didn't have. Yet within a year, Germany's people were trapped:
When the Nazis came to power in 1933, the German constitution guaranteed freedom of speech and freedom of the press. Through decrees and laws, the Nazis abolished these civil rights and destroyed German democracy.
Starting in 1934, it was illegal to criticize the Nazi government. Even telling a joke about Hitler was considered treachery. People in Nazi Germany could not say or write whatever they wanted.
Some examples of censorship under the Nazis included:
Closing down or taking over anti-Nazi newspapers;
Controlling what news appeared in newspapers, on the radio, and in newsreels;
Banning and burning books that the Nazis categorized as un-German;
Controlling what soldiers wrote home during World War II.
As an elderly disabled woman, I can’t get in the streets to protest, but I write letters and call Congress and most of all I VOTE! I see what this terrible president is doing, and I will do my best to fight against it. Thank you, Viktor for your words of warning and encouragement.
I’m from Australia and seeing what is happening in the US is frankly terrifying, and I don’t live there. I am tired of our Australian government acting as if the situation in the US is just another president. Our Australian media for the most part treat Trump as an amusing joke - “he’s just so unpredictable (laugh, laugh)” but fail to talk about the threats to freedom; people disappearing to unknown locations with no due process; and the steady dismantling of science, health care and social services. Until the rest of the world stops trying to feed the ego of the Trump regime (as if that will protect them from the worst of these excesses) then Trump will succeed.
I try to feel out news from independent media along with the main stream to expand my range of understanding as far as I can. I am nervous about the implications currently and I have learned its important to be open to rechecking your sources.
Thank you, Viktor, for your perspective and for the wise and timely warning. Unfortunately, all too many Americans are complacent and didn't think authoritarianism could take root here, but it already has. Still hoping and praying we'll be able to turn things around before it's too late, but I'm seriously worried.
Wow, Viktor. You really nailed it this time. I've been watching for decades as our rights have been diminished, watch lists grown in abundance, and the apathetic ignoring it all.
Thank you. In just a very short period of time our country has changed. We can see what you just described coming our way. I find myself taking short breaths, often with news catching my breath. We have never been in this situation and we must fight to stop it now. If they win, we lose everything we hold dear. Keep reminding us, Viktor. Your experiences make us think and take action.
You know because you lived it Viktor. A huge obstacle is that most people in the US have never lived what you describe. Many still think it's impossible for such things to happen in the US. That is an enormous problem. Thank you for trying to open our eyes but, as you correctly point out, no one will save us but ourselves. Slava Ukraini!
So let's defend them, Kristie, starting by showing up to vote in the midterm sin 2026, and urging others to do the same. In the past federal elections, around 90 million people preferred to stayed home.
I will do both. I live in Canada. Worked to elect a sane intelligent man to lead our country. I also make signs and attend No Tyrants demonstrations in Ottawa. ❤️🇨🇦👍
I have thought the same. I just can't put it into written words yet. Doing so seems to make it too real for me because I am scared. I hope I can turn that into some anger like you.
As always, Viktor, your words are profound. We so need to heed them and fight. We are all in this together. Surely in our numbers we can push back on this ONE evil, narcissistic man before it's too late.
Thank you Viktor for such a profound warning! And also sharing more of your own personal experience & the history. Your writings speak from the heart but also from knowing the experience with eyes wide open, and we treasure learning from your wisdom because clearly you see what's happening in our country too. The abyss you describe seems to be the one that we are falling into & no matter what we protest or do, it's a small dent that is not stopping the cataclysmic downfall of a nation that stood for liberty, freedom & democracy! We are trying to defend (many of us) but each day seems like another spiral downward & more injustices occur. This BS bill has many living in much fear & torment of uncertainty. I hope that we don't build that world that you survived once here. We are not in the midst of an invasion & war with no reason like you, yet you are the one giving us hope & encouragement. Thank you so much for sharing & keeping us alert!
Another Australian watching in utter horror from the outside: the ´republicans ´clearly no longer care about their constituents: their support is from elsewhere. Whether it is possible to have an honest election now in the US is a moot point. So why, why aren’t the American people using the one weapon they have; the one weapon that works (plenty of evidence of that)? GENERAL STRIKE, and asap.
America was built on stolen land, with stolen labor and for 250 years that history has been whitewashed. We were sold a lie, devoted ourselves to those principals and this regime has highlighted all the shortcomings of this democracy. The one “good” thing to come from this, is what’s on the other side. The pendulum always swings back, but not to the starting point, it will swing more left. I’ve been a nurse for 20 years and have always been gobsmacked that we, Americans, aren’t in the streets demanding healthcare. Not to mention our education, infrastructure, etc. With all the systems shattered, we have to reimagine and rebuild. And my fervent hope and prayer is we do it right this time. Atone for our history. Build a democracy FOR the people, BY the people.
Canadians are also on stolen land. Thankfully we are in the process of acknowledging this history and making attempts at reconciliation.
We watch gobsmacked, that Americans have been brainwashed into thinking free and equitable health care is somehow a Communist plot.
The whole world is at a huge inflection point. Will the largest democracy in the world, with all its flaws, manage to avoid becoming an actual authoritarian state?
Viktor! This is one of the most powerful pieces you have written.
Thank you for educating those of us who, thankfully, have never experienced this but are now aware of the tentacles of authoritarianism reaching out in our countries. In Canada, we live beside this neighbour. We see and hear the spread of hate and vitriol from within from political parties marching in step with the US. People voted them in recently without researching or considering how the political scene and party values had changed-slowly, inexorably, because we were comfortable in our democracy. Those of us born soon after WWll saw war newsreels and know about the USSR but it was far away-the other side of the globe. Today this culture has invaded our country. Your words have brought us face to face with reality. We need to stand strong or we WILL be repeating your story on this continent.
Thank you for warning us, cannot argue with someone who has lived the world Trump is creating for us in this country. Keep encouraging us with your truth and how you care for us and our country. I pray God gives us the strength to unite in solidarity to claw back what they are stealing from us.
You are so right. That this happened in such a short period of time is shocking. I feel like while there is resistance, there is also every day things happening that are abhorrent, like wrapping people off the street and sending them to a gulag. I thought this would never happen here. I’ve attended the rallies and will continue to do so and do everything I can to see that they this gets better and I hold you in my thoughts every day.
I did a volunteer medical trip to western Siberia in the early days post breakup of the Soviet Union….. to a prison hospital. I was a 50 year old nurse who thought I understood what a democracy meant. My naïveté left me as I learned that many of the patient/prisoners were inmates at gulags. A number of them were political prisoners. Many, undoubtedly, spoke against the government and thus were imprisoned. Now I understand how the same could happen here in the U.S. Freedom of speech is in jeopardy. The rule of law is in jeopardy. Our freedoms are in jeopardy. Thank you Viktor for reminding us that we must be vigilant and fight back to preserve our democracy.
Not only could it happen here in the States it is happening here in the States.
Yes they are already pulling people off the streets and basically sending them to exile with deportations to countries that are not their country where they do not know anyone leta lone speak the language and even here in the USA they are being held in detention centers but their attorneys do not know where they are. Our protests in the streets must continue until we have reclaimed congress (house and senate) so things can be stopped and reverse to begin to bring democracy back
I just heard Brett Meiselas report today that he saw "missing" signs posted all over the Silverlake district in LA, posted by people who were searching for missing friends and family who had disappeared. We could be in far worse trouble faster than anyone thinks.
Here's a reminder from Hitler's rise to power—and remember, Peter Thiel's Palantir is putting together all the info Musk downloaded from our govt. databases (IRS, Social Security, Medicare, etc.). Next step, total digital surveillance, a tool the Nazis didn't have. Yet within a year, Germany's people were trapped:
When the Nazis came to power in 1933, the German constitution guaranteed freedom of speech and freedom of the press. Through decrees and laws, the Nazis abolished these civil rights and destroyed German democracy.
Starting in 1934, it was illegal to criticize the Nazi government. Even telling a joke about Hitler was considered treachery. People in Nazi Germany could not say or write whatever they wanted.
Some examples of censorship under the Nazis included:
Closing down or taking over anti-Nazi newspapers;
Controlling what news appeared in newspapers, on the radio, and in newsreels;
Banning and burning books that the Nazis categorized as un-German;
Controlling what soldiers wrote home during World War II.
Sadly we are there
🛐😭
As an elderly disabled woman, I can’t get in the streets to protest, but I write letters and call Congress and most of all I VOTE! I see what this terrible president is doing, and I will do my best to fight against it. Thank you, Viktor for your words of warning and encouragement.
Thank you, Viktor, for reminding us in the US of the cold, hard truth. I hope your words reach people who need to hear them.
My thoughts exactly, Alia. Please God, help us all🙏
My prayer, too, every day. For the US and the world that seems to have gone war-hungry.
I hate to say this, but this country has always had a war streak. We've hardly ever been at peace in our history.
True. I think our species is warlike. Even our close relatives, the chimpanzees, have wars.
I’m from Australia and seeing what is happening in the US is frankly terrifying, and I don’t live there. I am tired of our Australian government acting as if the situation in the US is just another president. Our Australian media for the most part treat Trump as an amusing joke - “he’s just so unpredictable (laugh, laugh)” but fail to talk about the threats to freedom; people disappearing to unknown locations with no due process; and the steady dismantling of science, health care and social services. Until the rest of the world stops trying to feed the ego of the Trump regime (as if that will protect them from the worst of these excesses) then Trump will succeed.
And alot of the US media doesn't cover Trump super seriously either its crazy.
I get most of my news from journalists here and on foreign media. The contrary is drastic. Europe, Japan, and Taiwan are taking it very seriously.
I try to feel out news from independent media along with the main stream to expand my range of understanding as far as I can. I am nervous about the implications currently and I have learned its important to be open to rechecking your sources.
Canada too. We are horrified that we share a border that is the largest unprotected border in the world. We will NEVER become the 51st state. 🇨🇦
So true
Thank you, Viktor, for your perspective and for the wise and timely warning. Unfortunately, all too many Americans are complacent and didn't think authoritarianism could take root here, but it already has. Still hoping and praying we'll be able to turn things around before it's too late, but I'm seriously worried.
Wow, Viktor. You really nailed it this time. I've been watching for decades as our rights have been diminished, watch lists grown in abundance, and the apathetic ignoring it all.
Thank you. In just a very short period of time our country has changed. We can see what you just described coming our way. I find myself taking short breaths, often with news catching my breath. We have never been in this situation and we must fight to stop it now. If they win, we lose everything we hold dear. Keep reminding us, Viktor. Your experiences make us think and take action.
You know because you lived it Viktor. A huge obstacle is that most people in the US have never lived what you describe. Many still think it's impossible for such things to happen in the US. That is an enormous problem. Thank you for trying to open our eyes but, as you correctly point out, no one will save us but ourselves. Slava Ukraini!
You are so right. I think daily about losing the freedoms I have known for 67 years and I am scared.
So let's defend them, Kristie, starting by showing up to vote in the midterm sin 2026, and urging others to do the same. In the past federal elections, around 90 million people preferred to stayed home.
I will be there. Guaranteed!
Me too!
Pray for free and fair elections.
Not so much pray, as work for them.
I will do both. I live in Canada. Worked to elect a sane intelligent man to lead our country. I also make signs and attend No Tyrants demonstrations in Ottawa. ❤️🇨🇦👍
I'm less scared than furious. I'm around your age, too. Unless something changes quickly and massively, I foresee a lot of blood being spilled.
I have thought the same. I just can't put it into written words yet. Doing so seems to make it too real for me because I am scared. I hope I can turn that into some anger like you.
Thank you, Viktor, for reminding us that we must fight for democracy.
As my maternal grandparents are from Poland/ Ukraine I heard stories growing up. Fight like hell
#ElbowsandGlovesoff ❤️🇨🇦
My German mother escaped Nazi Germany. Descendant of Polish Jews. Elbows up. Am 72. And healthy. Ready to fight.
“Please understand that no paper saves you if you stop defending it.
Trump is not a joke.
He is not an accident.
He is the symptom of a disease this country here knows too well.
The disease that eats democracies from the inside.”
Absolutely correct.
As always, Viktor, your words are profound. We so need to heed them and fight. We are all in this together. Surely in our numbers we can push back on this ONE evil, narcissistic man before it's too late.
Thank you Viktor for such a profound warning! And also sharing more of your own personal experience & the history. Your writings speak from the heart but also from knowing the experience with eyes wide open, and we treasure learning from your wisdom because clearly you see what's happening in our country too. The abyss you describe seems to be the one that we are falling into & no matter what we protest or do, it's a small dent that is not stopping the cataclysmic downfall of a nation that stood for liberty, freedom & democracy! We are trying to defend (many of us) but each day seems like another spiral downward & more injustices occur. This BS bill has many living in much fear & torment of uncertainty. I hope that we don't build that world that you survived once here. We are not in the midst of an invasion & war with no reason like you, yet you are the one giving us hope & encouragement. Thank you so much for sharing & keeping us alert!
Another Australian watching in utter horror from the outside: the ´republicans ´clearly no longer care about their constituents: their support is from elsewhere. Whether it is possible to have an honest election now in the US is a moot point. So why, why aren’t the American people using the one weapon they have; the one weapon that works (plenty of evidence of that)? GENERAL STRIKE, and asap.
Whew. So powerful. Thank you. From your heart and experience to ours while in the midst of a terrible war.
I wish we would all wake the hell up!
Praying for you, for all of you incredibly brave Ukrainians, and for eyes to see and ears to hear in America.
I think that's coming this summe, Robyn. Pressure is building rapidly.
America was built on stolen land, with stolen labor and for 250 years that history has been whitewashed. We were sold a lie, devoted ourselves to those principals and this regime has highlighted all the shortcomings of this democracy. The one “good” thing to come from this, is what’s on the other side. The pendulum always swings back, but not to the starting point, it will swing more left. I’ve been a nurse for 20 years and have always been gobsmacked that we, Americans, aren’t in the streets demanding healthcare. Not to mention our education, infrastructure, etc. With all the systems shattered, we have to reimagine and rebuild. And my fervent hope and prayer is we do it right this time. Atone for our history. Build a democracy FOR the people, BY the people.
Canadians are also on stolen land. Thankfully we are in the process of acknowledging this history and making attempts at reconciliation.
We watch gobsmacked, that Americans have been brainwashed into thinking free and equitable health care is somehow a Communist plot.
The whole world is at a huge inflection point. Will the largest democracy in the world, with all its flaws, manage to avoid becoming an actual authoritarian state?
The whole world is watching. Holding its breath.
We already are in one unfortunately. 😔 But we will overcome. They will not last.
Viktor! This is one of the most powerful pieces you have written.
Thank you for educating those of us who, thankfully, have never experienced this but are now aware of the tentacles of authoritarianism reaching out in our countries. In Canada, we live beside this neighbour. We see and hear the spread of hate and vitriol from within from political parties marching in step with the US. People voted them in recently without researching or considering how the political scene and party values had changed-slowly, inexorably, because we were comfortable in our democracy. Those of us born soon after WWll saw war newsreels and know about the USSR but it was far away-the other side of the globe. Today this culture has invaded our country. Your words have brought us face to face with reality. We need to stand strong or we WILL be repeating your story on this continent.
Thank you for warning us, cannot argue with someone who has lived the world Trump is creating for us in this country. Keep encouraging us with your truth and how you care for us and our country. I pray God gives us the strength to unite in solidarity to claw back what they are stealing from us.
You are so right. That this happened in such a short period of time is shocking. I feel like while there is resistance, there is also every day things happening that are abhorrent, like wrapping people off the street and sending them to a gulag. I thought this would never happen here. I’ve attended the rallies and will continue to do so and do everything I can to see that they this gets better and I hold you in my thoughts every day.