She angrily demands that her husband, who has been posted to Ukraine, return home. “Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin has issued a decree that my husband must be there. I would like to know when he will issue a decree that my husband must be at home,” she shouts in front of several cameras and campaign workers.
A war of words develops with a woman who says that Russian soldiers are defending their homeland in Ukraine. Andreeva should pray for the soldiers. “And what happens then?” Andreyeva complains. “The Defense Department has spent its money and now we have to squeeze everything out of our boys, the last bit of life? So that they come back to us as cripples?” She talks to herself: “What will I get back? A man with no legs, no arms, a sick man? Don’t you know what’s happening there?”
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Such openly expressed discontent is unusual in Russia, where criticism of the war once morest Ukraine is forbidden. Putin, whose confirmation for another six years in office is considered certain in the March election, speaks of a “special military operation.” Russia has a strong position on the entire front, he said in December. But now, almost two years following the attack, there is no end to the fighting in sight, anger and despair are spreading in some soldiers’ families.
Andrejeva wants to express this during her appearance on Saturday with a delegation from the organization “The Way Home”. Putin has repeatedly appeared with soldiers’ families and praised the fallen for their willingness to sacrifice and heroism. But Andreyeva says she sees no interest on the part of the authorities in addressing the women’s concerns and allowing their husbands to return home. That’s why the group’s campaign needs to be strengthened.
Andreyeva also appeals to the rights of families and children, the importance of which Putin also regularly emphasizes. Andreyeva told journalists that her little daughter was suffering from impaired speech development because of her father’s absence. “All of my family’s problems can only be solved in one way – by demobilizing my husband. Because our daughter will be a completely different child when her father comes home.”
