It was the performance of his lifetime. He was warm, thoughtful, candid and self-deprecating. There was no swagger, menace or macho posturing, the very qualities that make his films so popular in Russia. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s video appeal to Russians to understand what their troops are doing in Ukraine came from a man who said he had “nothing but affection and respect” for the Russian people, who did not want to see Russia “broken” and who expressed regret for the thousands of Russians killed in the conflict. It was, nevertheless, a devastating indictment of the Kremlin’s lies and the horrors now inflicted on Ukraine.
His nine-minute talk was a lesson in effective communication and political sophistication. He did not hector or preach. He began by recounting his own boyhood hero-worship of Yury Vlasov, the Russian champion weightlifter, and the kindness he showed to the 14-year-old Arnie. He spoke with the humility of a son whose father had fought for the Nazis in the terrible siege of Leningrad and whose life had been broken by what he had seen and done. He ended: “God bless you all.” Few people have spoken to the Russians like this in recent months. Assuming his words got through, few may ever hear a more moving message.
One man who may have heard it is Vladimir Putin. Schwarzenegger is one of 22 people the president follows on Twitter, according to his official website. And although Russians cannot now access Twitter, nothing is blocked for Putin. “You can stop this war,” Arnie told him. Indeed he can.
Truth, empathy and humility win hearts in a way that arrogance and lies never do. This is why RT, the lavishly mendacious Russian propaganda television channel, commands such a derisory audience in Britain. It will now have no audience: Ofcom has blocked its output. Few tears will be shed. But many Russians will weep at Arnie’s words.
