On Sunday February 27, our photographer Gianluca Quaranta joined crowds of up to 100,000 Berliners protesting against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Life-long pacifists rubbed shoulders with NATO advocates, church groups and environmentalists, while the flags of Georgia, Belarus and other post-Soviet nations fluttered amid a sea of sky blue and sunflower yellow. The city centre ground to a halt – only 20,000 had been expected.
The crowd stretched from Brandenburger Tor to Siegessäule and beyond, with breakaway processions spilling into neighbouring Tiergarten as police announced there was no more space. Nearby, a group with megaphones gathered outside the Russian Embassy to express their anger.
A selection of images from Berlin’s largest protest for many years. All photos by Gianluca Quaranta.