Spontaneous anti-war memorials appear in Russia on the anniversary of the start of the war with Ukraine. In many cities, people take to the streets with anti-war posters or flowers. The police detain the participants, are on guard in the central squares.
In Moscow, city residents, some with children, lay flowers at the Lesya Ukrainka monument. There are police nearby. At one point they asked a utility worker to remove the bouquets, but the Muscovites who came to the monument put new ones. Later, OVD-Info reported that two people were arrested near the monument to Lesya Ukrainka. Yulia Konstantinova said that they were going to draw up a protocol on disobeying police officers against her. The penalty can be up to 15 days of arrest. The girl was taken to the Dorogomilovsky district police department. The second inmate is Viktor Kapitonov. Previously, he had been detained several times for taking part in demonstrations.
On Pushkinskaya Square in the center of the Russian capital, police randomly checked passers-by.
In Korolev, near Moscow, a girl was arrested with a poster “I am for peace”, in Irkutsk – a resident who came out with a poster “I demand the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine!”.
At least five people were arrested in Barnaul. Four of them – for putting up anti-war placards in the city’s central square and laying flowers nearby; one more – for going to the picket line with a “Stop Your Silence” banner.
Three other activists were arrested in Yekaterinburg, also during flower laying rallies. It was noted that there had been detentions of Yabloko youth activists who had previously planned to hold an anti-war rally at the Mask of Pain.
In Saint Petersburg, at least 15 people were arrested as they came to lay flowers in support of Ukraine at the monument to Taras Shevchenko. Earlier, the residents of St. Petersburg already organized a spontaneous memorial near this monument in memory of the Ukrainians who died as a result of an attack by Russian missiles on the Dnieper on January 14, notes the Russian service of the BBC.
According to the Saint Petersburg Paper publication, 77-year-old activist and artist Yelena Osipova, who went to the Kazan Cathedral with posters “No to war” and “Putin is war”, also was arrested on Friday. The police put the retiree in the car and promised to drive her home once the paperwork was completed. Osipova has been picketing in St. Petersburg for many years, responding to pressing public issues.
In the Leningrad region, businessman Dmitry Skurikhin, known for painting the walls of his store with protest slogans, held single picket with a sign “Sorry, Ukraine”. Skurikhin is involved in a criminal case under the article about the so-called discrediting of the Russian military.
In the Nizhny Novgorod region, a city deputy from the city of Vyksa was arrested due to an anti-war picket. Dmitry Mochalin took to the streets with a poster “Peace to Ukraine. Soldier – house.
In Nizhny Novgorod, at the memorial in memory of journalist Irina Slavina, former director of the Center for German and European Culture Pavel Miloslavsky and teacher Ilya Myaskovsky, accused in the case of “discrediting” the army, were arrested. According to OVD-Info, Miloslavsky attempted to light a candle at the memorial, to which local residents lay flowers every Friday. The two detainees were to be taken to the police station.
In Kazan, a spontaneous memorial appeared at the Monument to Victims of Political Repression in Lenin’s Garden. There are photographs of Bucha, Mariupol, Dnipro, as well as a “No to Putin’s War” poster.
There are also reports of spontaneous memorials at the Poklonny cross on Kashtak in Tomsk, in Novosibirsk at the monument to Taras Shevchenko, Murmansk. Locals brought flowers and children’s toys there. There were detentions, in Khabarovsk, in Vladivostok.
In Komsomolsk-on-Amur, Nadezhda Filimonova went out to picket on the anniversary of the war in Ukraine. About five minutes later, the police detained her with a sign saying “SUPER. Forgive us for ruining the country.” Filimonova was accused of “discrediting” the Russian military, but the local court refused to accept the protocol, citing errors in the document, reports Sibir.Realii.
Since the start of the war, more than 112 Russians have been prosecuted for radical anti-war actions, including burning down or preparing for military enlistment offices and cars bearing pro-war symbols, according to the report. human rights initiative “Solidarity Space”. 78 people are in prison, at least four received real sentences.
According to Mediazona estimates, since March last year, Russian courts have received more than 6,000 administrative protocols on the alleged discrediting of the Russian military.
More than 19,000 people have been arrested for participating in anti-war rallies and pickets, for posting on social media, and for expressing support for Ukraine in one form or another. This is a record number of politically motivated detainees in the past 10 years.
