Russian flag, temporary bans, and thoughts

I realize players keep playing here under the Russian flag even though the Russian dictator wages a war and very likely commits a genocide in the Ukraine. Every day innocent Ukrainians die, killed by soldiers pinning the Russian flag to their murderous weapons.

This kept bothering me for quite a while. Many sports organizations ban Russians because it is not tolerable that Ukrainians have to play their own and their families' murderers. Not so here at Lichess. It seems, protecting the platform is more important than protecting the Ukrainians, the victims. Highlighting the problem with the Russian flag in a neutral, non-offensive, fact-based language now even caused a temporary ban in a worldchampionship match chat room.

I increasingly wonder how we as a community and how the providers of this website position themselves in this war started by Russia. There is no neutral position - not even in sports, unfortunately. It is either protecting the victims, Ukrainians, or protecting the murderers and those that started this war, Russia. Unfortunately, there is no other way. I start to realize that the providers of this website protect the aggressor, those that commit a genocide. Or do I misinterpret something?

In a reflective mood,
Peter

So that wouldn’t work. I can almost garuntee you that the Russian users are not actively trying to commit genocide on the Ukrainians. Now I completely understand that what Putin is doing is wrong, and I see where you’re coming from. But letting one man from a certain country make all people in that country that play online chess not able to is irrational

lichess.org/blog/Yie1MhIAACAAk6OQ/lichess-statement-on-the-war-in-ukraine
Russian players and Russian flags will never be banned from Lichess. Previous topics about this have resulted in extremely boisterous arguments that repeat the same points over and over and are not worth arguing over anymore.

I see both of your arguments, but players from Russia that do not support the war can easily use the Russian war-opposition flag that still is tagged to the word "Russia" (white-blue-white). On the other hand, allowing the flag that is tagged to the weapons killing Ukrainians is reckless against Ukrainians. That's the core problem.

The attempt to "not become political" or "not choose sides" does not work. Accepting Russian flags is an unbelievably inconsiderate decision towards Ukrainians. This is also why many sports associations have banned Russian athletes. But, yeah, I can see that Russian players make up a substantial part of the users here that the platform does not want to lose. Maintaining a solid stance seems too expensive.

How is that inconsiderate??

Are you joking, they were russians before Putin came, and they will be for a long time stay russian after Putin went.

First of all a russian is not worse less than an ukrainian just because there is a war.

Why punish innocent people.

Just to pretend something , just to wash fides rotten clothes, you punish all russians with PR bs??

THERE ARE PEOPLE IN CHINESE GULAGS, WHY IS THERE STILL A
CHINESE FLAG? OR TAIWAN?

WHAT ABOUT KASHMIR, OR SUPRESSION OF NON HINDUS, WHY ALLOW THE INDIAN FLAG?

PAKISTAN SUPPORTS INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM, HAS HIDDEN OSAMA BIN LADEN AND YOU ALLOW THE PAKISTAN FLAG?

FIDE IS REALLY A CORRUPT PHONY JOKE.

how can anyone Support this hippocritical bs?

All of these threads end up in a flamewar sooner or later