Calls by Ukrainian President Zelensky and several European politicians to ban Russians from entering Western states and to deport all their citizens who have left the country for the Russian Federation remain the focus of German media attention. Most commentators are convinced that isolating the entire Russian society would be a wrong and counterproductive move.

FAZ: Denial of European visas will make Russians think

Large-scale Russian aggression in Ukraine is Putin’s war and, of course, sanctions must first and foremost affect those who are guilty of it, writes the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. And yet, the publication continues, each citizen is responsible for his state: someone needs a visa for a certain type of trip and someone doesn’t.

“The free world must not follow Putin’s example. Any disregard for everything Russian as such is prohibited. But it must be clear to everyone that Russia is waging a criminal war of conquest that deprives an entire nation of the right to exist. And Putin is not fighting this war alone and not without support”, points out FAZ columnist Reinhard Müller in the publication “All Russians are not entitled to a beach holiday”.

Of course, for those traveling to Western countries, “it is easier to have a complete picture of what is happening”, continues the German journalist. But it is necessary for people to realize “what exactly the West stands for and what many Russians also value”. “Therefore, stopping the distribution of tourist visas to Russian citizens by a generous hand will in no way be an inhumane measure. On the contrary, this step will make you think how fragile freedom is and in what danger it is,” said the book author. comments in the FAZ states.

Der Tagesspiegel: Punishing the whole of society is counterproductive

The deprivation of citizens of the Russian Federation of European tourist visas can be seen as a kind of sanction that will force Russians to think, notes the newspaper Der Tagesspiegel. This idea, according to the author of the comment “Collective punishments are counterproductive” Christoph von Marschall, could have reflexively occurred to the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and the governments of some Eastern European states – just look at how “Russia’s middle class likes to going to beaches and shopping while people are dying in Ukraine.” From this we can conclude that “Vladimir Putin’s subjects do not experience the consequences of war for themselves in everyday life, therefore, mass protests (in Russia. – Ed.) are absent”.

The airfield neighborhood in Crimea after the explosion there, August 9, 2022

“Of course, the shock can be useful: this is evidenced by the horror of Russian tourists in Crimea, who realized that the war with the explosion of the ammunition depot had reached the summer paradise, which they considered safe. The fear with which the Russians observe the debate that accompanies the requirement to suspend EU visas for Russian citizens, says that this discussion has achieved its psychological purpose. It wakes up some people”, believes the author of the comment in Der Tagesspiegel.

However, banning all Russians from entering the EU would be wrong, emphasizes the German journalist: “Sanctions must be targeted and smart. Experience shows that the impression that the whole of society is subject to universal punishment is counterproductive and leads to the strengthening of society’s unity with the regime.” The best way, according to von Marshal, is to restrict the issuance of visas to the EU. : Russian dissidents or people traveling to the funeral of a close relative must be given entry permission.

Frankfurter Rundschau: Collective punishment is a step in the wrong direction

The demand by the President of Ukraine to deprive Russians of European visas is understandable, we read in the Frankfurter Rundschau newspaper: the Louvre or sunbathing on the beaches of the Riviera.”

At the same time, EU countries should heed the “unanimous and urgent warning (from Russia. – Ed.) oppositionists fighting for humanism, human rights and peace in Russia. Isolation in the form of collective punishment would be for them – with their already modest opportunities – the path to North Korean conditions. And nobody is interested in that”, is sure Thomas Borchert, author of the comment “A ban on the entry of Russian tourists would amount to a collective punishment”.

The right decision, adds the journalist, was and remains “targeted and tough sanctions against members of the Putin regime, who must face the consequences in their daily life in Russia”. “Punishment based solely on ethnicity would, of course, be popular in many places. But it would be a step in the wrong direction – without any prospect of positive effect,” summarizes the Frankfurter columnist Rundschau.