Romain Rouillard
Russian rapper Ivan Petunin, better known as “Walkie”, committed suicide in Krasnodar to avoid the partial mobilization in Ukraine wanted by Vladimir Putin. Before ending his life, the young man of 27 years published a video in which he explains the reasons for his gesture.
“Sometimes you have to die for your principles”. In a video posted on his Telegram account, the Russian rapper Walkie – Ivan Petunin of his real name – indicated that he wanted to commit suicide in order to avoid the partial mobilization wanted by Vladimir Putin. His body was found last Friday in Krasnodar where he allegedly threw himself from the top of his building. In difficulty on the front, Moscow has indeed decided to call on 300,000 reservists to go and fight in Ukraine.
Facing the camera, the 27-year-old gave further explanation of the reasons that led him to end his life. “I can’t commit the sin of murder and don’t want to,” he says. “I will not kill for any kind of ideal,” he continues. After a long silence, he addressed his relatives, asking them to “forgive” him.
“Prisoners of a Madman”
At the end of his video, Ivan Petunin attacks Vladimir Putin directly. “We have become the prisoners of a madman,” he asserts. Convinced that this partial mobilization would one day become a general mobilization, he indicated that this suicide was a way of “protesting one last time” and “choosing how I am going to die”.
Russian rapper Ivan Petunin committed suicide. In his farewell message he says “We are all prisoners of a maniac, I don’t want to go kill people” @visegrad24pic.twitter.com/pohFM2dxPU
— The important (@Limportant_fr) October 2, 2022
When the master of the Kremlin announced this mobilization, several hundred thousand young Russians fled to neighboring countries. Georgia, in particular, has welcomed an impressive wave of Russian citizens who do not want to take part in this “special operation” in Ukraine that Moscow continues to describe as such.