Inadvertently, the state-run Ria news agency published an op-ed cheering Russia’s victory over Ukraine before it even happened. Away from the state media, however, numerous Russians across the country are making it clear that they do not agree with their army invading neighboring Ukraine. The forms of action range from open protest and rallies on the streets to digital dissent and open letters from celebrities to the government.
Hundreds of scientists have come together in an appeal against the war. Likewise journalists, comedians, cultural workers and teachers. What is striking is that the signers of the open letters – several thousand in total – do not only come from the milieu of the opposition who are willing to protest.
Among the researchers are numerous representatives of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and some of the comedians are known from TV stations close to the government. The journalists come not only from liberal media, but also from wide-reaching newspapers such as Kommersant. Some signatories even work for pro-government media such as RT or TASS.
The appeals are very clear in their rejection. The journalists say that war is “never a method of resolving conflicts”. The scientists see the Russian campaign as a “fatal step that leads to huge human casualties” and undermines the system of international security.
Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Novosibirsk and Kaliningrad: daily demonstrations against the war
The signing of some media representatives has already had consequences. Like the online newspaper Jellyfish reported was the involved Kommersant– Journalist Elena Chernenko excluded from the Russian Foreign Ministry’s pool of journalists immediately after the appeal because of “unprofessionalism”. The media try to keep their employees from participating in such actions. The sports TV broadcaster Match has banned its employees from privately posting references to Ukraine on social networks, the online newspaper reports SIGN. Nevertheless, two sports commentators from the broadcaster publicly spoke out on Twitter against the Ukraine war. Opposite to SIGN they stated that “everyone must act according to his conscience”.
Since the evening of the Russian invasion, there have been daily demonstrations against the war in Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Novosibirsk and Kaliningrad, which are larger by Russian standards. More than fifty other cities are now registering protest rallies, which are ongoing. According to confirmed press reports, several thousand people were arrested in the process – the state power took massive action to suppress them.
An example from February 26 in St. Petersburg, documented by the local online newspaper, shows how the street protests unfold paper: Two days after the beginning of the war, almost 400 people met – mediated by online appointments – at a central square in front of a department store on Nevsky Prospect. The police were there immediately and made arrests. A patriotic hymn blared from a loudspeaker from a police vehicle, and the demonstrators drowned it out with chants of “No to war”. Particular resentment arose when the police began to arrest pensioners and young girls. A nearby metro access was blocked. Defiantly, demonstrators continued to show the peace sign until the very end. A total of 72 participants were arrested.
“Invasion” has a penalty
The protest also flared up online. The well-known political scientist Ekaterina Schulmann, who is critical of the government, posted a black tile on her Instagram account in protest, followed by an impassioned text against the war. Numerous other accounts followed their example, so that the black protest areas spread virally.
A Russian-language petition by human rights activist Lev Ponomarev to become part of the anti-war movement was found at the portal change.org more than half a million supporters in just one day. The daughter of Putin’s predecessor Boris Yeltsin, Tatyana Yumasheva, positions herself clearly against the war with a Facebook post, as do presenters and actors known from television.
The government reacted harshly. Broadcasters that reported critically about the Russian campaign were asked by the regulators to remove programs. If terms such as “attack”, “invasion” or “declaration of war” are used, broadcasters face penalties of up to five million rubles – more than 50,000 euros.