Témoignages
Les voix de celles et ceux qui connaissent Mike
Jan. 10, 2026
"Je connais Mike depuis 25 ans. Je l'ai accueilli en Belgique en 2020 dans pa société. Apprendre que Mike était emprisonné en Russie a été pour moi un choc.
Il est entré dans ma vie d’entrepreneur comme une véritable lumière. Malgré les circonstances difficiles qu’il avait dû affronter pour parvenir jusqu’en Belgique, il n’a jamais cessé d’avancer avec dignité, courage et humanité.
Durant les dix années où j’ai eu la chance d’avoir Mike au sein de mon équipe, je n’ai jamais, vraiment jamais été déçu. Bien au contraire, cela n'a été que du plaisir. Mike est intelligent, sensible, altruiste, passionné, dévoué. Ces années n’ont été faites que de moments de bonheur et de confiance partagée.
Lorsque je l’ai revu il y a environ un an, à Luxembourg, nous avons passé un moment magnifique ensemble, autour d’un repas dans un restaurant russe. Un moment simple, chaleureux, qui reste gravé en moi.
Découvrir aujourd’hui ce qu’il a traversé est profondément bouleversant. C’est pour cela que je souhaite me battre pour sa libération. Personne ne devrait endurer ce qu’il vit; c'est tellement injuste.
J’espère que toutes les personnes qui découvriront l’histoire de Mike prendront le temps de faire un geste, petit ou grand. Un message de soutien, un témoignage, un appui quel qu’il soit. Chaque geste compte. Chacun peut contribuer, à sa mesure, à lui redonner espoir et à soutenir son combat pour la liberté."
Jan. 7, 2026
"I have known Mikhail since 2024. He worked with my friends on theatrical productions as a lighting technician and sound engineer. In 2025 we worked together. For Russian-language performances, his ability to read lighting and sound scores in Russian was invaluable.
He was always deeply committed to art and creative work and never refused to offer his help.
What has happened to him follows a well-established pattern used by repressive states. To maximize the intimidating effect, such regimes deliberately select random individuals as victims and imprison them. This creates a climate of fear and simultaneously forms a reserve of hostages for future political bargaining.
It may seem obvious to say that one should avoid traveling to Russia, Belarus, or other countries with similar political systems in order to protect oneself and others. However, such judgments are easy to make in the abstract, over a cup of coffee, until the situation involves one’s own father, who has suffered a heart attack.
As a sociologist, I can state that people living in exile are often forced to invent alternative rituals of farewell to loved ones whose funerals they cannot attend. They face situations in which they are unable to accompany family members on their final journey, to hold their hand before death, or to say goodbye in person. Not everyone is able to live with this reality afterward; for many, it is experienced as an unbearable moral burden, perceived as cowardice or moral failure. They choose to travel to repressive countries, risking their own lives, in the hope that they will escape the attention of the system because they are just ordinary people, neither politicians nor activists."
Jan. 7, 2026
"What happened to Mikhail has revealed sharp internal contrasts within the local diaspora. For years, he was known as someone who provided practical assistance to those in need — helping with documentation, housing, and employment, often informally and without public recognition.Following the events involving him, many of the same individuals have become reluctant to speak about him publicly. Some decline to comment altogether; others insist on anonymity. This shift is notable not because of its scale, but because of its context.The silence is unfolding in a country with a well-established democratic system and formal protections for freedom of expression. Yet within the diaspora, fear has taken hold. People behave as if their words are being monitored, as if public association or even verbal acknowledgment could carry unforeseen consequences.This atmosphere of self-censorship suggests a widening gap between democratic principles as codified in law and the realities of social behavior within vulnerable communities. The case of Mikhail has thus become more than a personal story — it reflects how fear can persist, and even intensify, within open societies."