Anti-war protests have cropped up in at least fifty cities throughout Russia as it appears the average Russian wholly rejects their government’s premise as justification for the carnage Putin has wrought on a nation that many view with familial bonds. In his rambling and paradoxical treatise on the historical relationship between Russia and Ukraine Putin did hit on one utterly accurate point: the relationship between Russians and Ukrainians goes far deeper than a common tongue.
“I am embarrassed for my country. To be honest with you, I am speechless. War is always scary. We don’t want this,” said Nikita Golubev, a 30-year-old teacher told The Guardian. “Why are we doing this?”
Alexander Belov, protesting in Moscow said he thought that Putin had “lost his mind”. “I thought that we would never see a war like this in the 21st century,” he said. “It turns out we live in the Middle Ages.”
More from Moscow, chanting “no war.” Unbelievably brave. @OvdInfo, which monitors crackdowns on Russian protests, says it’s counted at least 900 arrests at demonstrations in 44 cities and towns across the country. pic.twitter.com/9Yn9mxukDr
— Alejandro Alvarez (@aletweetsnews) February 24, 2022
Moscow And St. Petersberg Erupt with Fifty Other Cities In Russia
The most massive protests have emerged in Moscow and in St. Petersberg, Putin’s hometown, where hundreds if not thousands have taken to the street despite threats from the Kremlin and arrests. One hundred municipal deputies (*roughly equivalent to mayors) have signed an open letter of protest against the so-called “special military operation”.
“We, the deputies elected by the people, unreservedly condemn the attack of the Russian army on Ukraine,” the letter said. “This is an unparalleled atrocity for which there is and cannot be justification.”
Alexander Baunov, a political analyst at the Carnegie Moscow Center tweeted: “Putin seems totally indifferent to approval on the street. He’s acting not like a politician in need of public support, but like a figure from national history books who cares only about the approval of future historians and readers,”
In #Novosibirsk, #Russia, local residents are marching in #protest against the Russian invasion of #Ukraine:pic.twitter.com/LjgAosDJXg
— Alex Kokcharov (@AlexKokcharov) February 24, 2022
According to Axios more than 1,700 Russian citizens have been detained participating in the anti-war demonstrations throughout the Federation as reported by OVD-Info, a Russian human rights organization. 600 of those detained were in Moscow alone according to The New York Times. Axios reported that “The anti-war demonstrations are the largest organized protests against the Russian government since the Kremlin arrested Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny last year.”
WATCH: Anti-war protests continue in St. Petersburg in defiance of crackdown by Russian police pic.twitter.com/Uv0Swk0DJt
— BNO News (@BNONews) February 25, 2022
As they stand in the freezing cold streets in cities from St. Petersberg in the west to Novosibirsk, Siberia, and Vladivostok on the Pacific Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the protesters in a video and thanked them for their solidarity “To the citizens of the Russian Federation that are coming out to protest, we see you. And this means that you have heard us,” he said.
“To the citizens of the Russian Federation that are coming out to protest, we see you. And this means that you have heard us,” he said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addresses Russians who are protesting against war:
"To the citizens of the Russian Federation that are coming out to protest, we see you. And this means that you have heard us," he said. pic.twitter.com/7fp8OP0YgZ
— DW News (@dwnews) February 25, 2022
