I love receiving cards from Russia. Besides having beautiful stamps, I have found your people to be lovely! I received a letter from a young Russian girl (in her 20s) in July, and my heart was broken open with all of the love that I received: from her I got a letter, a postcard, a magnet, and two brochures, all explaining to me about the Mari people. I was so touched that she took the time to do this. I love learning about people in different lands and different cultures. And I love learning new and interesting stuff about Russia. Unfortunately, the media in the United States can sometimes portray Russians in a negative light, but most of us know enough not to believe the propaganda of media. Please know that I (and many other people) do not judge you. You are fabulous because you are part of the human race and you are loved no matter what, no matter where you come from.
I love receiving cards from Russia. It is a shame we cannot send postal mails at all to Russia now from Japan, not even via ship.
Mail delivery from the U.S. to Russia has been suspended for the past six months.
Today, as Russia mourns the death of Gorbachev, do we wonder: what happened since his time when he introduced Glasnost and Perestroika? How did Russia get from there to Putin?
We ordinary folk have limited power. And we often don’t know what hit us until it’s too late.
But what power we do have, if we work collectively, with purpose and with integrity, can make a difference. Can lead to positive change.
So we must keep writing postcards.
We must keep sending our love for this hobby and our desire for peace out into the world. And we must respect each other for the effort made to spread joy and kindness on those lovely little pieces of paper carried around the world by the even smaller bits of postage.
Each of us can be the best kind of ambassador for humanity.
And each of us can - and must - do more to act, to speak up, to affect change.
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
― Margaret Mead, Anthropologist
No…you should not feel that way. I have some postcard groups put aside for members from the Russian Federation because of the mail suspension from here. This saddens me.
As you have probably seen from the large number of comments before mine, most members are a-political or are circumspect in their comments about the current situation. For me personally, since 2017 I feel heartbroken for my Russian fellow-believers after the government labeled our religious group an extremist organization. This has resulted in properties being confiscated and fellow believers imprisoned for sometimes long terms. But the bottom line is that the Russian Government is responsible for this.
But to go to the question of your post, if you are engaging in regular PostCrossing activities in a friendly manner, there is nothing to worry about. Sometimes, though, we may need to bypass some stuff we receive. A few years ago, I received a postcard from the “Republic of Crimea” bearing a Russian stamp. The sender was quite vocal in her approval of the annexation. No comment was needed.
My country can’t send or receive to Russia at the moment and it makes me sad. I miss cards from Russia.
Receiving mail from Russia is currently blocked in Finland. I miss your beautiful cards and I hope that the connection will be restored soon.
I think its in the bible too & its true by lots of little acts we can make a great difference.
Another good quote is 'lift where you stand ’
I don’t like many things the UK Gov’t does but I’m lucky I can tell them without fear.
I’m greatful that UK keeps postal routes open in most situations
If you look at it that way, it’s not just “all Russians” who fucked up, but more generally my generation - well, all of us who live in countries that had any serious influence on world politics. Instead of embracing peace in 1990, we revived nationalism - and nationalism will always lead to war 
I have no problem of getting a card from Russia. I would love to get cards from Russia 
I don’t think you or anyone else has anything to do with whats going on between countries.
And I have a dear postcrosser in Russia who sends me bundle of care during this thought time in Sri Lanka. After all we all are humans and thats only matters
Please don’t feel any guilty
same here.
I’ll be very happy to both send and receive from Russia 
I don’t agree with the government but I have absolutely no problem with the Russian people.
I know Russians in real life and I think they’re just as fabulous now as I did before Ukraine was invaded, and that applies to Russian postcrossers, too 
I do not believe that alle Ukrainians are “good” or Russians “bad”, but I admit that I love cards from Russia especially when they contain some kind of peace-message showing that they distance themselves from the war of aggression. It can be subtle, I do not expect anybody to endanger themselves. I have received some cards like that, I have been extremely thankful, because ir helps me believe that peace and friendship between nations are possibilities.
I am there with you completely.
Everybody blamed German citizens for what happened during WW2 - and rightly so. I do not understand at all people saying that Putin is the only one responsible. No, he is not. Lots of Russian people support his politics. I had immense trust in the people of Russia when the war started and hoped that they would protest loud and openly. It makes me sad that I was mistaken.
I think that there Is no place for xenophobia/racism/homophobia on Postcrossing. Well, there isn’t anywhere, really, but especially in a place like this that celebrates knowledge and respect for people from different nationalities, cultures, religions, etc…
I’m confident that most people know the difference between the Russian people and Putin’s war. It’s HIS war and his war alone. It makes no sense to treat the Russian people any different now. I understand that many Russians are suffering with this situation as well and it truly breaks my heart. I sometimes think how it would be if it was my country. I love being Portuguese and I hate it when people try to make me feel bad about it. You should never have to apologize for being Russian.
I think that, thanks to Postcrossing, it is easier to perceive someone you don’t know not as a representative of a country / as a different stranger, but rather as a human. Of course, I can understand that some people associate the actions of a government with a people, as long as there were no mass movements of protest against the authorities as in Belarus for instance.
But it is easy to judge from the outside. I myself am lucky to live in a democratic country, France. Of course, France does not wage war directly against another state, however it sells many weapons to countries like Egypt or Saudi Arabia, knowing that these weapons will be used to repress opponents, or to wage war in Yemen… And yet, very few French people take to the streets against this. And it is hard to say, but I personally didn’t concretely do anything against that. So I really think that it requires an extreme courage to demonstrate when you know that you can lose your job, see your life ruined…
That’s why I really don’t think that we should blame the whole Russian population for what is happening; in my opinion, if more Russians knew what is really going on, the reaction would be different. The most important thing for me is to see how we can concretely help the people who are victims of this conflict.
Germans had to apologize for decades for being Germans. Because they did not do anything to stop Hitler.
I am a very politically thinking person and I am really astonished about the thought that Putin alone is responsible for what is happening. He was voted to office. There are hundreds of thousands brave people in Russia who have tried to stop him, but millions who support him.
I have been to Russia, I have friends there, I have fought vainly to continue our youth exchange with Russia, because I am sure that there will be CHANGE. But it has to come from within the country. Only Russians can take over that responsibility. It will take time. But I believe in Russian people.
no i don’t mind sending or receiving from russia. i cannot blame every russian for the war. i’m sure i could be sending cards to people who support putin but then again i could also be sending cards to homophobes, racists, trump supporters…
i would however not be happy if i got a card from russia saying ‘god save ukrainians’ . god cannot do anything to stop this but (especially if you’re from russia) your opinion counts. you can do something. @LC-Canada explains better what i mean to say. so yes. that.
I have to say I have a bit mixed feelings about this thing overall. I know there are people who think like you but there are also people who don’t, and I mean there are those people even on this site, among postcrossers. That’s what makes me very sad.
Well, the Portuguese also still have to apologize for being Portuguese on account of the Discoveries, more than 500 years ago. There are very few countries that don’t have a dark past somewhere in time. And of course that Putin’s supporters are also to blame for what’s happening. And of course not every Ukrainian person is a victim. But does that mean that we have to blame an entire country for the actions of a few? Well, I refuse to do so.
The fact that millions voted for Putin does not mean that all those millions are pro war. Politics is not that simple. There is an endless number of nuances to it. Politicians make promisses before elections that they do not always deliver, people believe them or maybe feel that they are the lesser of two evils. It isn’t that simple and for that reason I still believe that no one should have to apologize for being Russian, German, Portuguese, Spanish, whatever…