Stas Davydov on the war

Stas Davydov's Stance on the War in Ukraine

Following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Stas Davydov openly spoke out against the war, supported Ukraine, branded the Russian Federation an aggressor, and commented on the real causes of the war, sharply criticizing the Kremlin's narrative that "they forced us to attack them":

Perhaps someone doesn't understand this, but today the government of the Russian Federation committed a crime against two peoples: the Ukrainian people (I hope everything is obvious here, and only completely deranged minds can agree with the rapist's rhetoric of 'they forced us to attack them'), as well as all residents of their own country... Dissenters who have money, connections, or some valuable skills (high-quality people) will leave the country... leaving behind an impoverished, sick, uneducated population in whose ears propaganda pisses day and night...

...we have one very important difference in thinking that I hadn't realized until now: the majority of these people believe that attack, warfare, a massive army, nuclear missiles — are in one sense or another a demonstration of strength. In their minds 'Russia attacked Ukraine' = 'Putin showed his strength.'
In my mind, as in the minds of very many people in the civilized world — this is, on the contrary, a demonstration of one's own weakness and utter helplessness.

Following the outbreak of the war, Stas introduced adjustments to his video blogging:

We now try to speak more about scientific subjects, and have almost stopped touching upon Russia in principle. We had some internal discussion about the launch of the Russian lunar mission, but talking about the space program of a country that is currently launching missiles at a country where my friends live would make me feel deeply uncomfortable. Therefore, we bypass heavier topics so that a show remains about what is happening across the world aside from terrible things. It is important for me to periodically mention something not only in connection with the war, say, but also something related to tolerance toward people, my views. This effectively filters the audience, leaving behind those who appreciate what we do.

Registration with Roskomnadzor

Despite residing in Latvia, Davydov nonetheless registered his channel in the Roskomnadzor official registry, although technically he was under no obligation to do so. In effect, a blogger who calls the Russian Federation an aggressor voluntarily submitted to its laws. This appears to be an attempt to sit on two chairs: loudly supporting Ukraine while simultaneously reporting to Russian authorities so as not to forfeit advertising revenue.