Russian authorities have arrested a total of 5,942 people for participating in anti-war protests across the country since Thursday, the first day of the invasion of Ukraine, according to independent monitoring site OVD-Info. For years, he has documented the repressive measures once morest the Russian opposition.
On Sunday alone, 2,114 people were arrested for wanting to show their refusal of war in 57 cities across the country, including Moscow, where 1,275 protesters were arrested. 2,802 were in detention awaiting trial, during the day or on Monday.
No demonstrations have been authorized by Russia once morest what the Kremlin describes as a “peacekeeping” operation in Ukraine. Under Russian law, demonstrations with one participant or in very small groups are in principle allowed, unlike large demonstrations which must always be authorized. The request must be submitted 10 to 15 days before the event.
Heavy fines – and in some cases prison terms – can be imposed on those who demonstrate without permission. In addition, health restrictions related to Covid are still in effect, and they include the ban on demonstrations. Unless you want to come together to support the power.
The movement suffers from not having a leader at its head
But as early as Thursday, Russia’s Investigative Committee warned that participating in any anti-war protest, in addition to being illegal, put participants at risk of leaving an indelible mark on their criminal records. A thousand people nevertheless defied the ban in Moscow the same evening, meeting in Pushkin Square despite the grid of the police. Dozens were arrested, including the opponent Marina Litvinovich who had called to mobilize on social networks. They were as much in Saint Petersburg, the country’s second city, and around fifty people had also been arrested. Among the demonstrators, many students opposed to the war, and/or people worried regarding their families in Ukraine.
If calls to protest once morest the war have been launched on social networks, the movement suffers from not having a leader at its head. Over the past two years, the Russian authorities have been particularly active in suppressing all forms of opposition. The main opponent of the Kremlin, Alexei Navalny, is currently imprisoned for a case of fraud and faces new charges in a trial started ten days ago, which seems intended to inflict him ten more years in prison.
On Thursday, Navalny said he opposed the war in Ukraine. “I think this war between Russia and Ukraine is being waged to cover up the theft of Russian citizens and divert their attention from the problems that exist inside the country, from the deterioration of the economy,” he said. he says as his trial resumes, according to a video released by the opposition Dojd channel. “This war will cause a large number of victims, waste lives and continue the policy of impoverishment of Russian citizens,” he said.
As part of its policy of censoring all dissenting voices, the Russian government has issued a formal notice to non-subject media to strike out the word “invasion” and any “unofficial” source of information from their articles. Roskomnadzor, the Russian media regulator, also demanded Novaya Gazeta that it withdraw the calls for peace and the anti-war forums posted online in recent weeks under the aegis of its editor-in-chief Dmitry Muratov, Nobel Peace Prize 2021.
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