FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

A Google Document

Click here for the Russian text

A huge number of Russian citizens are against the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Many express their position through open letters and appeals or simply publications on social media. The Yabloko party, the majority of opposition politicians and activists, many municipal deputies across the country, and even several deputies of the State Duma and the Federation Council have publicly condemned the war. More than 1,100,000 people have subscribed under the anti-war petition written by a human rights activist Lev Ponomarev. Representatives of many professional communities — doctors, IT-specialists, teachers, designers, scientists, journalists, philanthropists, and various cultural workers — have signed collective open letters. In interviews and social networks a large number of famous Russians: nationally beloved musicians, internationally recognized filmmakers, TV hosts, actors, sportspeople, and businesspeople speak out against the war. Various independent media outlets have published statements against the war, and several print media outlets have come out with special covers. The list of the people and the organizations which publicly oppose the war grows every day.

Video statement from young scientists against the war with Ukraine

This list is constantly being updated. If you want to help us update it with new data, write an email to stopwarua22@gmail.com.

(Editor’s note: Sources marked with an asterisk are no longer available as of March 13. In some of these cases I have been able to find other sources still available – put in parenthesis. For those in the left column blocked after March 13, I have provided backup versions.)

Political movements and civil activists

• The opposition party Yabloko openly opposed the war with Ukraine. As early as February 13, the party began collecting signatures against a possible escalation of the conflict, and over 84,000 people have signed it so far. After the full-fledged war began, the Federal Political Committee of Yabloko also demanded that Putin immediately stop the military actions

  The Yabloko party considers the war with Ukraine the gravest crime. <…> We are sure that millions of Russians are against the war. Yabloko demands that President Putin immediately cease hostilities and urgently start internationally mediated peace negotiations
  
  Yabloko, Feb 24
  
  

• Human rights activist Lev Ponomaryov’s petition against the war with Ukraine has gathered more than 1,100,000 signatures in a week and the number is growing
  
  
  Change.org, Feb 24
  
  
• Human rights activist and politician, member of the federal political committee of Yabloko, Lev Shlosberg has published a ‘petition to the people of the world,’ calling on Russians for a ‘peaceful, non-violent civil resistance to war’
  
  This day will go down in the history of Russia as one of the most horrific. It is a day of disgrace, a day of shame, a day of a global-scale tragedy
  
  Echo of Moscow, Feb 24*
  

• Municipal deputies from different Russian cities spoke out against the war with Ukraine. A collective open letter to the citizens of Russia was signed by more than 270 people
  
  We, people’s elected deputies, unequivocally condemn the Russian army’s attack on Ukraine. This is an unprecedented atrocity that has and can have no justification. The decision to attack was made personally by President of Russia, Vladimir Putin. We are convinced that the citizens of Russia did not give him such a mandate

  
  Novaya Gazeta, Feb 24*

  (available here in google docs)
  
  

• An appeal by Russian intellectuals against a possible war with Ukraine, published on January 30, was signed by 90 people, including chairman of the Yabloko party Grigory Yavlinsky, politician and economist Andrei Nechayev, sociologist Lev Gudkov, and film director Garri Bardin
  
  Echo of Moscow, Jan 30*
  
  (available on the wayback machine)
• Chairman of the unregistered opposition Libertarian Party of Russia Boris Fedyukin has released an appeal to libertarians with the condemnation of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine
  
  LPR Telegram channel, Feb 24
  
  
• Eleven public figures have announced the creation of the Anti-War Committee of Russia. It includes politician and entrepreneur Mikhail Khodorkovsky<, politician and chess player Garry Kasparov, politicians Dmitry Gudkov and Vladimir Kara-Murza, economists Sergey Aleksashenko and Sergey Guriev, historian Yury Pivovarov, journalist Yevgeny Kiselev, entrepreneurs Boris Zimin and Yevgeny Chichvarkin, and writer Viktor Shenderovich
  
  Khodorkovsky’s Telegram channel, Feb 27
  
  
• More than 30 members and deputies of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation and the Leninist Communist Union of Youth of the Russian Federation, including CPRF candidate for the Duma Mikhail Lobanov, have signed an open letter against the war with Ukraine
  
  Google Forms, Mar 2
  
  
• Social democratic organization Russian Socialist Movement has called for the immediate withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine
  
  RSM, Feb 25*
  

Russian anti-militarist movements have also opposed the war:

• Soldier’s Mothers of St. Petersburg
  
  VK, Feb 25*
  
  (available on the wayback machine)
  
  
• Alexey Tabalov’s human rights organization Recruit’s School
  
  VK, Feb 24*
  
  
• Movement of conscientious objectors
  
  VK, Feb 24
  
  
• Feminist Anti-War Resistance
  
  Doxa, Feb 25*

  (Jacobinmag)
  

Appeals of professional communities

Representatives of many professions have published collective open letters to Vladimir Putin or Russian citizens condemning the war in Ukraine:

• Open letter from Russian culture workers, artists, curators, architects, art critics, art managers) against the war with Ukraine — more than 17,000 signatures
  
  Meduza, Feb 26
  
  
• Appeal by famous theater workers, published by theater activist Maria Revyakina, was signed by 17 people, including nationally famous conductor Vladimir Spivakov, actors Alisa Freindlich, Yevgeny Mironov, Konstantin Raikin, Nina Usatova, and Oleg Basilashvili
  
  Revyakina’s Facebook, Feb 26
  
  
• Appeal demanding an immediate end to the invasion of Ukraine, published by the Union of Cinematographers and Professional Film Organizations and Associations of Russia — more than 80 cinematographers, including the chairman of the Union, filmmaker Alexey Popogrebsky and its board members, filmmakers Boris Khlebnikov, Vitaly Mansky, Andrei Proshkin, and also filmmaker Alexander Lungin and actor Yury Borisov
  
  Kinosoyuz, Feb 24
  
  
• Open letter from Russian scientists and science journalists against the Russian aggression in Ukraine — more than 5,400 scientists, including Yury Apresyan, Mikhail Gelfand, Alexey Gippius, Sergei Guriev, Alexander Markov, Svetlana Tolstaya, Boris Trushin, and Fyodor Uspensky
  
  Troitsky Variant — Nauka, Feb 24
  (no longer available directly as of March 17 but available on CPNN)

• Open letter from economists of Russian origin against the war with Ukraine — more than 210 people, including co-founder of Yandex Ilya Segal, Sergey Aleksashenko, Konstantin Sonin
  
  Google Sites, Feb 27
  
  
• Open letter from representatives of the Russian scientific diaspora against the war with Ukraine, initiated by the International Association of Russian-Speaking Scientists — more than 48 people, including 2010 Nobel Prize-winning physicist Andre Geim
  
  Troitsky Variant — Nauka, Feb 25*
  
  (text in t-variant)

• Open letter from students and professors of Russian universities against the war in Ukraine — more than 14,000 people
  
  It is generally accepted that science and the Academy should be free from politics. But the time has come when this freedom has no place to exist. War will affect all aspects of life, including science and education. Free science and academic activities are not to be combined with bloodshed and suffering
  
  Znak, Feb 24*
  
  (available here on the wayback machine
  
  

• Appeal of cultural figures demanding an end to the war with Ukraine, published by journalist Mikhail Zygar — 13 people, including famous writers Boris Akunin, Dmitry Bykov, Dmitry Glukhovsky< and Vladimir Sorokin, journalists Leonid Parfyonov and 2021 Nobel Peace Prize winner Dmitry Muratov, publisher Irina Prokhorova, actress Chulpan Khamatova, and filmmakers Andrei and Ilya Khrzhanovsky

  The war that Russia has launched against Ukraine is a disgrace. It is our shame, but, unfortunately, the responsibility for it will fall on our children, the generation of very young and even unborn Russians. We do not want our children to live in an aggressor country, to be ashamed that their army had attacked a neighboring independent state. We call upon all citizens of Russia to say ‘no’ to this war

  
  Meduza, Feb 24
  
  

• An open letter from Russian journalists and correspondents who write about Russian foreign policy, with the condemnation of Russia’s ‘military operation’ in Ukraine, published by journalist Elena Chernenko who was soon expelled from the Kremlin pool for this), signed by 100 journalists from the following media outlets: Novaya Gazeta, Dozhd, TASS, RBC, RTVi, Kommersant, Important Stories, Echo of Moscow, Doxa, and many others

  
  Chernenko’s Telegram channel, Feb 24
  
  

• Appeal of journalists of independent Russian media from< Syndicate-100 against the ‘massacre’ waged by the Russian authorities

  Pain, anger, and shame — these are the three words that reflect how we feel about what is happening. <…> Ever since the Cuban Missile Crisis the world has never been so close to a global catastrophe. We, journalists of independent Russian media outlets, declare that we are against the massacre waged by the Russian authorities. We promise to report honestly about what is happening as long as we have the opportunity to do so

  
  Wayback Machine, Feb 24
  
  (original article in Novaya Gazeta is now censored by the Prosecutor-General’s Office and Roskomnadzor)

• Open letter from representatives of major Russian charities and nonprofit organizations demanding an end to the war in Ukraine, published by Nyuta Federmesser, founder and member of the governing board of the Vera Hospice Charity Fund — more than 560 people
  
  Forbes Live, Feb 26
  
  
• Open letter from IT workers against Russia’s war with Ukraine, published by the product manager of HeadHunter, Natalia Lukyanchikova — more than 30,000 people
  
  VC.ru, Feb 26
  
  
• Open letter from Russian doctors, nurses, and paramedics demanding an end to the military actions in Ukraine — more than 11,000 people

  We took an oath to help all people, regardless of their nationality, religion or political views. But right now, our help is not enough. The fighting will take so many lives and cripple so many lives that we will not be able to help in all our efforts. Cries of pain and calls to mothers are all in the same language

  
  Meduza, Feb 26
  
  

• Open letter from Russian teachers against the war in Ukraine — more than 4,500 people
  
  Meduza, Feb 26
  
  
• Open letter from designers and illustrators from Russia against the war with Ukraine — more than 10,000 people
  
  Meduza, Feb 27
  
  
• Open letter from architects and urban planners of Russia against the military actions in Ukraine — more than 6,500 people
  
  Project Russia, Feb 26
  
  
• Open letter of workers of the Russian fashion and beauty industry, as well as lifestyle media against the war with Ukraine — more than 4,300 people
  
  The Blueprint, Feb 28*
  
  (available in the wayback machine
• Open letter from Russian psychologists and psychiatrists against the military actions in Ukraine — more than 4,900 people
  
  Google Docs
  
  
• Open letters from Russian lawyers against military actions in Ukraine — more than 4,300 people
  
  Google Forms

  Mari Davtyan’s Facebook*
  
  

• Appeal by the members of the Council of the Russian Federal Bar Association
  
  RFBA, Feb 27*
  
  (available on the wayback machine)
  
  
• Open letter from employees and alumni of the Higher School of Economics, Moscow against the war with Ukraine — more than 4,400 people
  
  Google Docs, Feb 27*
  
  
• Open letter from current and former students of Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology against the war in Ukraine — more than 2,500 people
  
  Doxa, Feb 27
  
  
• Open appeal from students, employees, and alumni of Moscow State Institute of International Relationsagainst the military actions in Ukraine — more than 1,100 people
  
  Google Docs
  
  
• Appeal by the students and employees of Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology to the university’s administration with a demand to publicly condemn the military actions in Ukraine
  
  Meduza, Mar 1
  
  
• Open letter from Russian game industry workers against the war with Ukraine — more than 2,100 people
  
  TJournal, Feb 27
  
  
• Open letter from Russian intellectual game club participants against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — more than 1,500 Russians
  
  Google Docs, Feb 28*
  
  
• Open letter of Russian geographers against the military actions in Ukraine — more than 1,400 people
  
  Doxa, Mar 1
  
  
• Petition of Russian translators against the invasion of Ukraine — than 1,400 people
  
  Change.org, Feb 26
  
  
• Open letter from the Russian advertisement and PR industry against the war with Ukraine — more than 1,200 people
  
  Google Docs, Feb 27
  
  
• Open letter from Russian ecologists, ecoactivists, and ecojournalists against the military actions in Ukraine — more than 1,000 people
  
  Google Docs*
  
  
• Открытое письмо российских историков против войны с Украиной — более 1 100 человек
  
  Google Forms*
  
  
• Open letter of Russian writers and poets against the invasion of Ukraine — more than 630 people
  
  Doxa, 1 мар
  
  
• Open letter from the educational community of Russia against the aggression on Ukraine — more than 900 people
  
  Google Docs*
  
  (Facebook)
  
  
• Open letter from the Russian podcast industry against the military actions in Ukraine — more than 450 people
  
  Podcasts.ru, Feb 26
  (no longer available directly on March 17 but available here as a backup copy.)
  
  
  
• Open letter from Russian animators against the invasion of Ukraine  — more than 390 people

  Animation, and all art in general, has always been imbued with an anti-war spirit. We believe that today’s military actions are directed not just against our Ukrainian friends and colleagues but against all people, humanity, and Human in general

  
  Novaya Gazeta, Feb 25*

  (Facebook)
  
  

• Open letter from Russian comedians against the war in Ukraine — more than 260 people
  
  Meduza, Feb 27
  
  
• Open letter from Russian anthropologists against the military actions in Ukraine — more than 600 people
  
  Change.org, Feb 27
  
  
• Appeal by members of the Interdisciplinary Clinical Association of Reproductive Medicine against Russian military actions in Ukraine, published by its head, biologist Ilya Volodyaev, — more than 220 people
  
  Volodyaev’s Facebook, Feb 25*
  
  
• Appeal by clergymen of the Russian Orthodox Church against the war in Ukraine — more than 190 people

  We, the priests and deacons of the Russian Orthodox Church, each on his own behalf, appeal to all on whom the fratricidal war in Ukraine depends for reconciliation and an immediate cease-fire. We send this appeal after the Last Judgment Sunday and in anticipation of the Forgiveness Sunday

  
  Meduza, Mar 1
  
  

• Open letter of Russian mathematicians against the war in Ukraine — more than 170 people
  
  Troitsky Variant — Nauka, Feb 28
  (no longer available directly as of March 17 but available on CPNN.)
  
  
  
• Open letter from the Union of Journalists and Media Workers demanding an end to the war — more than 170 people
  
  Union of Journalists and Media Workers, Feb 24
  
  
• Open letter from Russian human rights activists against the war with Ukraine — more than 100 Russians
  
  lawyer and activist organization Departament One
  
  
• Open letter from film and advertising directors against the military actions in Ukraine — more than 100 people
  
  cinematographer Pavel Kostomarov’s Facebook, Mar 1
  
  
• Open letter from Russian academic musicians — more than 90 people
  
  Fermata Telegram channel, Feb 27*
  
  
• Open letter from Russian digital humanities researchers against Russia’s military actions in Ukraine — more than 85 people
  
  Google Forms*

  (text listed in theins.ru)
  
  

• Open letter from Russian film camerapersons against the war with Ukraine — 80 people
  
  Meduza Live, Feb 27
  
  
• Open letter from Russian screenwriters against the war — more than 66 people
  
  filmmaker and screenwriter Mikhail Mestetsky’s Facebook, Feb 27*
  
  
• Open letter from Russian music journalists against the war with Ukraine — more than 48 people
  
  PRNRP Telegram channel, Feb 27*

  (Colta)

• Open letter of Russian chess players against the war in Ukraine — 44 people
  
  Chess.com, Mar 3
  
  
• Statement by Russian publishers, editors and booksellers against the war — more than 48 people
  
  Sergey Parkhomenko, bookseller’s Telegram channel, Feb 27
  
  
• Open letter from Russian sommeliers and wine trade workers the military actions in Ukraine — more than 100 people
  
  The Village, Feb 26*

  (Telegram store, Feb 26)
  
  

• Open letter from Russian restaurateurs and chefs against the war between Russia and Ukraine — more than 35 people
  
  The Village, Feb 27*

  (nv-online)

• Open letter from students, members of the list ‘Talents of Russia’ of the president fund ‘Talent and Success’ — more than 25 people
  
  Google Docs, Feb 26
  

• Statement by the community of Russian Shakespeare researchers against the war in Ukraine — 23 people
  
  Doxa, Feb 26
  
  
• Appeal of art workers, artists, critics, and curators against the war in Ukraine, published by architect Yevgeny Ass — more than 12 people, including Andrei Bilzho, Andrei Yerofeev, Kira Dolinina, Leonid Bazhanov, and Elizaveta Plavinskaya
  
  Ass’ Facebook, Feb 26*
  
  
• Video statement from young scientists against the war with Ukraine
  
  YouTube, Feb 27
  

Continued in right column)

Questions related to this article:

 
Can the peace movement help stop the war in the Ukraine?

(Continued from left column)

Statements of celebrities and organizations

Many well-known Russians have appealed to the citizens and spoken out against the war with Ukraine through social networks and interviews. Among them are opposition politicians, activists and human rights activists

• politician and political prisoner Alexey Navalny, former mayor of Yekaterinburg Yevgeny Roizman<, lawyer and former head of an association of lawyers and journalists Team 29 Ivan Pavlov
  
  Meduza, Feb 24
  
  
• politician and former State Duma deputy Dmitry Gudkov
  
  Dozhd, Feb 24*
  
  
• politician and human rights activist Marina Litvinovich<, who, after the announcement of a spontaneous protest rally against the war with Ukraine in various Russian cities on the first day of the war, was detained by police
  
  RBC, Feb 24*
  
  
• politician and entrepreneur Mikhail Khodorkovsky
  
  Khodorkovsky’s Telegram channel, Feb 24
  
  
• politician Ilya Yashin
  
  Radio Svoboda, Feb 25
  
  
• politician Irina Fatyanova
  

  Wonderzine, Feb 25*
  

Businesspeople

• entrepreneur, one of the richest businesspeople
   of Russia Oleg Deripaska
  
  RBC, Feb 27*
  
  
• entrepreneur, founder of Tinkoff Bank Oleg Tinkov
  
  Tinkov’s Instagram, Feb 28
  
  
• entrepreneur Yevgeny Chichvarkin
  
  Chichvarkin’s Facebook, Feb 25
  
  
• entrepreneur, co-owner of Alfa-Bank Mikhail Fridman, publisher Boris Kupriyanov
  
  Meduza, Feb 27
  
  
• entrepreneur, co-owner of Severstal and supermarket chain Lenta Alexey Mordashov, founder of tech shop chain M.Video Alexander Tynkovan, co-owner of Tekhnonikol Igor Rybakov, businessman David Yakobashvili
  
  RBC, Feb 28*
  
  
• co-founder of Qiwi, Boris Kim<, media manager and former Meduza publisher Ilya Krasilshchik, entrepreneur Nikolai Davydov, HR specialist Alyona Vladimirskaya
  
  Forbes, Feb 24
  
  

Scientists

• political scientist Ekaterina Schulmann, sociologist Viktor Vakshtayn
  
  Meduza, Feb 24
  
  
• linguist Svetlana Tolstaya, writer Leo Tolstoy’s great-granddaughter, with her daughters, linguist Marfa Tolstaya and journalist Fyokla Tolstaya
  
  Svetlana’s Facebook, Feb 27
  
  

Writers and poets

• Lyudmila Ulitskaya
  
  Dozhd, Feb 25*
  
  
• Linor Goralik, Viktor Shenderovich
  
  Meduza, Feb 24
  
  
• Vera Polozkova
  
  Росбалт, Feb 25*
  
  
• Guzel Yakhina
  
  Dozhd, Feb 25*
  
  

Musicians and music industry workers

• Valery Meladze, Zemfira Ramazanova, Lolita Milyavskaya, Boris Grebenshchikov, Yury Shevchuk DDT), Miron Fyodorov Oxxxymiron), Sergey Lazarev, Svetlana Loboda, Ivan Alexeyev Noize MC), Vladi Kasta), Aigel Gaisina Aigel), Kirill Ivanov SBPCh)
  
  Meduza, Feb 24
  
  
• Elizaveta Gyrdymova Monetochka), Ekaterina Kishchuk, Yanis Badurov Yanix), Fyodor Insarov Feduk), Alexander Smirnov Gone.Fludd), Daniel Bumagin White Punk), Yury Drobitko 104), hip hop group Grot
  
  The Flow, Feb 24*
  
  
• Alisher Morgenshtern, Manizha Sangin, the bands Little Big and Bi-2, Danil Prytkov Niletto), Darya Shikhanova Dora)
  
  Dozhd, Feb 25*
  
  
• Egor Kreed
  
  Znak, Feb 24*
  
  
• Leonid Agutin
  
  Agutin’s Instagram, Mar 2
  
  
• Olga Buzova, Natasha Korolyova, band Pornofilmy
  
  Rosbalt, Feb 25*
  
  
• bands Kino, Affinazh, Tarakany, Lumen
  
  Reproduktor, Feb 26
  
  
• Roman Khudyakov Loqiemean), Oleg Nesterov Megapolis), bands Cream Soda, KDIMB
  
  The Village, Feb 24*
  
  
• Vera Brezhneva, Natalia Ionova Glukoza), Musya Totibadze
  
  RBC, Feb 25*
  
  
• band Mumiy Troll, which has suspended all concerts
  
  Lenta.Ru, Mar 3
  
  
• Yana Rudkovskaya
  
  Dozhd, Feb 24*
  
  
• Andrei Makarevich Mashina Vremeni)
  
  Meduza, Feb 25
  
  
• band ГШ / Glintshake
  
  VKontakte, Feb 28*
  
  
• lead singer of the band Shortparis Nikolay Komyagin, who was fined for participating in an anti-war protest in St. Petersburg

What is happening right now is pure madness. The people who started this war are insane. They are a disgrace to Russia — Boris Grebenshchikov, musician

I was sure that war was impossible. I really feel that Ukrainians are our family and our brothers, between whom war is impossible. I have been reading the assurances of this made by the current government with my own eyes. <…> I wish everyone to live to see the time when Russia will officially list and acknowledge the crimes of the current government — Vladi Kasta), musician

Apologiya Protesta Telegram channel, Feb 26

Television celebrities, hosts, and showpeople
:

• Ivan Urgant, Alexander Gudkov, Anastasiya Ivleyeva, Ksenia Sobchak
  
  Dozhd, Feb 24*
  
  
• Yuliya Menshova, Anfisa Chekhova
  
  Rosbalt, Feb 25*
  
  
• Maxim Vitorgan
  
  The Village, Feb 24
  
  
• Mikhail Shats
  
  Dozhd, Feb 25*
  
  
• Natasha Barbier
  
  Радио Свобода, Feb 25
  
  

I’m ashamed I was born on this day — Alexander Gudkov, showman

Actors and actresses

• Danila Kozlovsky, Elizaveta Boyarskaya, Irina Starshenbaum, Alexander Pal, Darya Melnikova, Irina Sheik, Marina Zudina, Kristina Asmus
  
  Rosbalt, Feb 25*
  
  
• Liya Akhedzhakova, Ekaterina Varnava, Alexandra Rappoport
  
  Meduza, Feb 24
  
  
• French actor, citizen of Russia Gérard Depardieu
  
  RBC, Mar 1*
  
  
• Leonid Barats, Katerina Shpitsa, Nastasya Samburskaya and Agata Muceniece
  
  Dozhd, Feb 24*
  
  
• Yuliya Aug, Anatoly Bely
  
  Dozhd, Feb 25*
  
  
• Viktoria Isakova
  
  The Blueprint, Feb 25*
  
  
• Maria Mironova
  
  Meduza, Feb 27
  
  
• Sergey Pisarenko and Yevgeny Nikishin, who are currently in Ukraine
  
  UNIAN’s Telegram channel, Mar 1
  
  
• Alexander Kuznetsov
  
  Forbes, Feb 24
  
  
• Rinal Mukhametov
  
  RBC, Feb 25*
  
  
• Varvara Shmykova
  
  Dozhd, Feb 25*
  
  
• Veniamin Smekhov, Elena Koreneva, Evgeny Tsyganov
  
  Meduza, Feb 26
  
  

Filmmakers and other cinematographers

• Alexander Rodnyansky, Kantemir Balagov, Roman Volobuyev, Viktor Kosakovsky
  
  Meduza, Feb 24
  
  
• Andrei Zvyagintsev, Yury Bykov, Kira Kovalenko, Mikhail Mestetsky, Nigina Sayfullaeva, Oksana Karas, Roman Vasyanov
  
  Meduza, Feb 26
  
  

Comedians and stand-up artists

• Maxim Galkin, Garik Kharlamov, Danila Poperechny, Alexander Dolgopolov, also Denis Chuzhoy, who later received death threats because of his statement
  
  Meduza, Feb 24
  Also : Mar 1
  
  
• Semyon Slepakov
  
  Meduza, Feb 25
  
  
• Alexander Nezlobin
  
  Rosbalt, Feb 25*
  
  

Other culture workers and celebrities

• opera singer Anna Netrebko
  
  Meduza, Feb 27
  
  
• artist Pokras Lampas
  
  Sobaka, Feb 24*
  
  
• fashion models
  Maria Minogarova and Natalya Vodyanova
  
  The Blueprint, Feb 25*
  
  

• ballet dancer Anastasiya Volochkova
  
  Rosbalt, Feb 25*
  
  
• conductor Ivan Velikanov, who gave an anti-war speech before a performance at the Nizhny Novgorod Opera House and was subsequently suspended from performing at the Golden Mask Festival for this speech
  
  Znak, Mar 2*
  
  

• dramatist Alexander Gelman
  
  Radio Svoboda, Feb 25
  
  
• art manager Marat Gelman
  
  Dozhd, Feb 25*
  
  

• players of the TV intellectual game ‘What? Where? When?’ Denis Galiakberov and Nikolai Krapil, who have refused to participate in the game on Channel One
  
  Krapil’s Facebook, Feb 28
  
  
• former director of the Meyerhold Center, who had resigned on the first day of the war in protest, Elena Kovalskaya
  
  The Village, Feb 24
  
  
• theater director Dmitry Volkostrelov, fired from his position as artistic director of the Meyerhold Center for his anti-war statements
  
  Meduza, Mar 1
  
  

Sportspeople

• figure skater and two-time world champion Yevgenia Medvedeva
  figure skater and four-time world champion Alexey Yagudin
  national soccer team player Fyodor Smolov
  CSKA coach Vasily Berezutsky
  footballer and Zenit defender Yaroslav Rakitsky
  footballer and Rubin halfback Konstantin Kuchayev
  Zenit coach Sergey Semak
  biathlete Larisa Kuklin
  mixed martial arts fighter and interim UFC champion Pyotr Yan
  
  RBC, Feb 25*
  
  
• tennis player
  Andrei Rublyov, ATP No. 1 ranked tennis player
  Daniil Medvedev
   
  
  CNN, 25 Feb
  
  
• tennis player Yevgeny Kafelnikov
  
  Sports.ru, Feb 24
  
  
• hockey player, captain of the Washington Capitals Alexander Ovechkin
  
  RBC, Feb 25*
  
  
• chess player Ian Nepomniachtchi
  
  Dozhd, Feb 24*
  
  

YouTube bloggers

• Ilya Varlamov
  
  Dozhd, Feb 24*
  
  
• Valentin Petukhov Wylsacom) and Ruslan Usachev
  
  Dozhd, Feb 25*
  
  
• blogger, board game reviewer Alexey Zuykov
  
  YouTube, Feb 27*
  
  

Journalists

• Yury Saprykin, Anton Dolin, Karen Shainyan, Alexander Gorbachev, Galina Yuzefovich, Sergey Smirnov, Lev Gankin, Katerina Gordeeva
  
  Meduza, Feb 24
  
  
• Yury Dud, Nikolay Solodnikov
  
  Rosbalt, Feb 25*
  
  
• Galina Timchenko, Tikhon Dzyadko, Ekaterina Barabash, Maxim Yusin, Tatyana Malkina
  
  Radio Svoboda, Feb 25
  
  
• Andrei Loshak
  
  Echo of Moscow, Feb 25*
  
  
• Journalist and founder of Corpus Publishing House Varvara Gornostayeva,
  
  Gornostayeva’s Facebook, Feb 24*
  
  

Media

• Internet media
  
  Meduza
  
  
• newspaper
  
  Novaya Gazeta*
  
  

Today we all met early in the newsroom. We are in grief. Our country, by the order of President Putin, has started a war with Ukraine. <…> We will publish this issue of Novaya Gazeta in two languages, Ukrainian and Russian. Because we do not recognize Ukraine as an enemy, and Ukrainian language as the language of the enemy. And we will never recognize it this way. And one last thing. Only the anti-war movement of Russians can save life on this planet

• online TV channel
  
  Dozhd*
  
  
• Internet media
  
  Mediazona Belarus
  
  
• Internet outlet
  
  The Flow*
  
  
• Internet outlet
  
  Wonderzine*
  
  
• outlets which write about fashion and lifestyle:
  
  The Blueprint, Buro, Good Morning, Karl*
  
  
• several newspapers have come out with special covers opposing the war in Ukraine: Novaya Gazeta, Sovetskiy Sport
  
  Wonderzine, Feb 25*
  
  
• the newspapers of an Ural media holding VK-Media, the front pages of which carried the anti-war slogan ‘This madness must be stopped!’, the police seizing the entire print run on the same day
  
  Znak, Mar 2*
  
  

Other organizations

• Russian Direct Investment Fund, exporter of the Sputnik vaccine
   to foreign countries
  
  
  Meduza, Mar 2
  
  
• Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, which stopped working on exhibitions as a protest against the invasion of Ukraine
  
  Meduza, Feb 26
  
  
• Strelka Institute for Media, Architecture, and Design, which also suspended its work due to hostilities in Ukraine
  
  Strelka Mag, Feb 28
  
  
• cultural and educational center in Yekaterinburg, Yeltsin Center
  
  Meduza, Feb 26
  
  
• Internet project Suffering Middle Ages
  
  VK, Feb 24*
  
  
• «Titanic’s Historical Research Community»
  
  VK, Feb 24*
  
  
• ecological movement in Arkhangelsk «42»
  
  7×7, Feb 27
  
  
• pharmacy chain Ozerki
  
  TJournal, Mar 1
  

Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia (1990—1996) Andrey Kozyrev has publicly condemned the invasion of Ukraine and the possibility of a nuclear war

Dozhd, Feb 28*

Founders of the Immortal Regiment movement, Igor Dmitriev, Sergey Lapenkov, and Sergey Kolotovkin, spoke out against the war with Ukraine

The problem is that few people think that the great-grandchildren of those who fought back then who we call The Immortal Regiment today) are thrown into this war, on one side or the other. I think our great-grandfathers would probably curse us for what has happened — Sergey Lapenkov

ТV2, Feb 24*

(Moscow Times)

On January 28th, Colonel General Leonid Ivashov, Chairman of the ‘Assembly of the Russian Officers,’ had published an appeal to the President and the citizens of Russia entitled ‘The Eve of War,’ in which he condemned the possible recognition of the Donetsk and Luhansk republics and the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine

Echo of Moscow, Feb 6*

Former head of a popular Russian news aggregator Yandex.Novosti Lev Gershenzon has spoken out against the war and urged his colleagues not to suppress information about Russia’s war with Ukraine in the service’s news feed

Gershenzon’s Facebook, Mar 1

Founder of a website The Question, former Yandex employee Tonya Samsonova has quit her job to protest Yandex.Novosti’s concealment of the information about the shelling of civilians by the Russian military

Due to the fact that Yandex does not display the information that Russian troops are shelling Ukrainian cities and killing civilians on the main page of Yandex, I ask that I be fired at my own request. I consider the company’s actions a crime and a complicity in the war and the murder — Tonya Samsonova

Samsonova’s Facebook, Mar 2

Statements of some government officials

Some government officials have spoken out against the war as well:

• State Duma deputy from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation Oleg Smolin has spoken out against Russia’s military actions in Ukraine. Despite the fact that he had voted for the recognition of Donetsk and Luhansk, the deputy said that he was ‘shocked when he heard about the beginning of large-scale hostilities’
  
  Dozhd, Feb 25*

  (Business Insider)
   
  

• Another Duma deputy from the CPRF, Mikhail Matveyev, who had also voted for the recognition of the republics, has spoken out against the war, too
  
  Dozhd, Feb 26*
  
  (Business Insider)
   
• Then, Duma deputy from the CPRF Vyacheslav Markhayev has also condemned the war with Ukraine, explaining that by voting for the recognition of the republics he had hoped for peace rather than war

  To my great regret, the entire campaign of the recognition of the DPR and LPR had a completely different plan and intent, which was initially concealed, and as a result we have found ourselves in a full-scale confrontation and war between the two states. After recognizing the republics of the DPR and LPR, we had neither the stamina nor the political will to try to continue to reclaim their positions peacefully. Has there been no other means for ‘denazification’ and ‘demilitarization’ than military actions? — Vyacheslav Markhaev

  
  Meduza, Feb 28
  

• Federation Council member Lyudmila Narusova has condemned military censorship and militaristic state propaganda and called for the creation of a humanitarian corridor for the removal of killed Russian soldiers’ bodies
  
  Novaya Gazeta, Mar 2*
  
  
• Deputy of the State Council of the Komi Republic and head of the local CPRF faction Viktor Vorobyov has spoken out against the war with Ukraine
  
  Region-Expert, Mar 1
  
• Deputy head of Rossotrudnichestvo< Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent States Affairs, Compatriots Living Abroad, and International Humanitarian Cooperation), former prosecutor of the Republic of Crimea and State Duma deputy from United Russia Natalya Poklonskaya has spoken out against the war in Ukraine

  Dare to doubt yourself and have human compassion for the world, which is on the line. We have gone too far. And it seems to me that it is time we take responsibility in our own hands, not hand it over to those who have guns. I appeal to everyone, Russians and Ukrainians alike — Natalia Poklonskaya
  
  Wonderzine, Mar 2
  

• The Council of Deputies of Moscow’s Yakimanka District has unanimously spoken out against the military actions in Ukraine
  
  deputy Andrey Morev’s Facebook, Feb 28*
  
  
• The Council of Deputies of Moscow’s Krasnoselsky District has spoken out against the military actions in Ukraine as well
  
  chairman Ilya Yashin’s Facebook, Mar 2
  
  
• Former deputy chairman of the Krasnodar Public Chamber Igor Kolomiytsev, left his position in protest against the war in Ukraine. He has also resigned from his position as deputy editor-in-chief of the pro-government outlet Krasnodarskiye Izvestiya
  
  93.Ru, Feb 25
  

In social networks, the children of some Russian politicians and businessmen close to the government have spoken out against the war with Ukraine. Anti-war statements were published by the daughter of the Press Secretary for the President Dmitry Peskov Yelizaveta Peskova she soon deleted the statement), the daughter of businessman Roman Abramovich Sofia Abramovich, the daughter and granddaughter of former Russian President Boris Yeltsin Tatiana Yumasheva and Maria Yumasheva

Mediazona, Feb 25

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY .

A blog by Joseph Mougel published by Mediapart

The association “Bodensee Peace Region” which unites people from the countries bordering Lake Constance: Germany, Switzerland and Austria and which demands the reconversion of industries working in the armament of 3 countries has published a text on March 2 opposing the decision of the Bundestag of February 27 to rearm Germany and proposing non-violent methods of action.

The Bodensee Peace Region association protests against the new rearmament of NATO and the Bundeswehr.

Militarist reflexes instead of reflection: rearmament is not the solution but on the contrary the cause of new wars

Frantic applause for rearmament in the Bundestag on February 27: shame on Germany.

Strict diplomacy and methods of civil resistance are more likely to succeed than armed resistance.

Lindau / Überlingen February 28. The Bodensee Peace Region Association strongly condemns the injuries done to the people and territorial integrity of Ukraine by the armed groups of the Russian Federation. However for Frieder Fahrbach, representative of the association: “It is not the deliveries of arms to Ukraine that can end the war. They create the danger of an extension and prolongation of the war and can ignite a lasting civil war in Ukraine. With each delivery of arms the danger of an atomic war in Europe grows.” Rearmament and a purely military security logic on both sides, the Russian Federation and NATO, are the root causes of the war in Ukraine.

Non-violent methods are more likely to succeed than armed resistance

Who wants peace must prepare peace is one of the basic phrases of the association “Peace Region Bodensee”. Even during a military invasion, methods of nonviolent resistance[1] not only produce fewer casualties but are also significantly more successful than those of armed resistance[2].

Rearmament reinforces global warming

The recently published new edition of the report of the 6th session of the IPCC World Climate Council[3] finds that the dangers have increased more than ever. At the end of the decade, the window for action to avert climate catastrophe will be definitively closed. The growing support of the majority of parties in the Bundestag on February 27 for a drastic increase in the arms budget is, in this context, irresponsible because the military is one of the main causes of the production of greenhouse gases, the consumption of resources and the disturbance of nature. Rearmament is incompatible with efforts to contain climate change.

(Continued in right column)

Questions related to this article:

 
Can the peace movement help stop the war in the Ukraine?

(Continued from left column)

The Bodensee Peace Region demands an immediate revision of the debates in the Bundestag, a moratorium on Ukraine’s NATO membership and a common security policy in the European house.

The association “Bodensee Peace Region” calls on all parties to the conflict to immediately return to the negotiating table and there also to take into consideration the security needs of the Russian Federation. It calls for a moratorium on the admission to NATO of new countries from Eastern Europe. Facing the US government, only a European peace policy including Russia can restore and keep peace in Europe.

For more information, see :

www.friedensregion-bodensee.de

www.sicherheitneudenken.de

Press contact: Friedensregion Bodensee e.V., Frieder Fachbach, Lindau/Überlingen, 0178 – 168 96 26

The Bodensee Peace Region works for a culture of peace, a sustainable lifestyle, global justice and for a political concept geared towards security and disarmament. Through actions, demonstrations, actions and trainings, our goal is thinking based on a logic of peace in the sense of the concept: “Think differently about security”. The 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations are the foundation of our association.

We provide skills for non-violent conflict transformation in all areas. For this we show the links between capitalist economic growth, the destruction of nature, the climatic catastrophe, rearmament and war. We are working on alternatives for an economy of the future and a good life for all. Through this, we carry a commitment to a major transformation (economic, ecological/social and a security policy) and encourage civic and political engagement.

The circle of silence for peace, climate protection and justice is held every Friday from 5 p.m. to 5.30 p.m. in front of the old town hall in Lindau under the theme “War in Ukraine”.

Stop the war – no new weapons

Instead of that : Engage in a peace process for a “Common Home Europe”

For peace it must never be too late

[1] See for example Theodor Ebert (1981). Social resistance – Waldkirsch – Publishing company “Waldkircher Verlagsgesellschaft

[2] Chenoweth, Erica, Maria J. (2011) Why civil resistance works. The strategic logic of nonviolent conflict. new York

[3] IPCC in French

(Click here for a French version of this article.)

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

An article by Pauline Rouquette in France 24

Thousands of Russians have taken to the streets in protest against the invasion of Ukraine, with more than 6500 demonstrators arrested as of Tuesday, according to the OVD-Info human rights group, which tracks political arrests. 

A person holds a sign during a protest against Russian invasion of Ukraine in Moscow on February 27, 2022. © Evgenia Novozhenina, Reuters

And despite a crackdown by the Russian authorities, opposition to Moscow’s war in Ukraine is gaining support. While some continue to demonstrate publicly, others are setting up rear bases on the Internet and circumventing restrictions by using social networks, encrypted messaging and VPN servers. 

“I’m not afraid, I went out alone,” a user named Stanislav wrote on Twitter. The message is accompanied with a photo of him protesting on a street in the town of Azov in the western Russian oblast of Rostov. The 30-year-old holds a sign that reads “#НЕТВОЙНЕ” (No War) in large black letters. 

Fear of repression has meant that only a minority of Russians are publicly expressing their opposition to the invasion. However, the anti-war movement is gathering support on the Internet, mainly through social networks and encrypted messaging services such as Telegram and Signal. 

On Twitter, the hashtag #ЯпротивВойны (I’m against the war) was trending in Russia on Tuesday. “This has been the case since the beginning of the war,” Stanislav told FRANCE 24.  

Discretion when faced with repression 

Most of the opposition seems to be fomenting behind screens since, under Vladimir Putin, to oppose the war out on the streets risks arrest and conviction. This is reflected in the daily figures released by OVD-Info. 

The NGO told FRANCE 24 that it tracks the number of people arrested at anti-war rallies – not the number of participants. Nearly a week after the start of the Russian invasion, the numbers are already significant.

“We have never seen such a large number of detainees per day,” said Grigory Durnovo, an analyst for the group. “We counted at least 6,489 detainees in five days. This is enough to show us the number of people willing to go out on the streets and express their views,” he said. 

A Facebook post on Tuesday by the NGO mentions more than 3,100 arrests in Moscow, more than 2,000 in St. Petersburg, about 100 in Yekaterinburg and a few dozen in other, less populated cities across the country.

While the arrests have not prevented thousands of Russians from defying the law to express their opposition to the war, the vast majority prefer to maintain a low profile.  

Durnovo attributed this to a wave of repression seen in 2021, notably with the closure of celebrated human rights group Memorial, as well as the criminal prosecution of people who participated in protests earlier this year.

Twitter, Signal and Telegram: the backbone of the anti-war movement 

But protesters still find ways to express their opposition to the war while remaining under the radar. 

“Contacts between protesters are mainly on Twitter and Telegram,” says Stanislav, who depicts them as networks of solidarity. Members on these groups share information from independent media (including the online TV channel Dojd), relay petitions and support protesters arrested by the police.

“We help them pay fines and also find lawyers to help them,” he said. 

(Continued in right column)

(Click here for a version of this article in French).

Questions related to this article:

 
Can the peace movement help stop the war in the Ukraine?

How can we be sure to get news about peace demonstrations?

(Continued from left column)

According to the OVD-Info website, depending on the charges, protesters risk being fined “from 2,000 to 300,000 rubles (from €17 to more than €2,500) and risk up to 30 days in detention”. 

Unable to rely on Russian media sources regarding the protests, OVD-Info receives information directly from the field as well as from the detainees themselves. “They call us via our hotline or send messages to our Telegram bot,” Durnovo explained. “We ask them to tell us the number of detainees on a police bus or in a police station along with their names, the name of the city and any other significant information, such as possible cases of violence.”

He added that this information is crosschecked with other sources. This includes independent media, Telegram channels and, to a lesser extent, statements from police officials (which is compared with data collected elsewhere).   

“The official media sometimes mentions anti-war protests but we can’t use them as a source because they don’t tell the whole story. Sometimes we can quote the number of detainees from the statements of police officials and compare it with our own data,” he said. 

Petition gathers over 1 million signatures   

In addition to NGOs, citizens and professional groups have been taking up the anti-war banner by using social networks or getting support from independent media.  

A number of petitions and open letters have been circulating on the Internet since the start of the invasion, including one from Russian lawyers citing Russian violations of the UN Charter. Russian scientists have posted a video on YouTube expressing their opposition to the war. 

The most significant of these initiatives remains a Change.org  petition entitled, Stop the War with Ukraine. Launched by Lev Ponomarev, a Russian political activist committed to the defence of human rights, the text calls on Russian citizens to resist the war. It exceeded 1 million signatures on Tuesday.

The petition calls for “an immediate ceasefire of the Russian armed forces and their immediate withdrawal from the territory of the sovereign state of Ukraine”. 

According to Ponomarev, if a million signatures are gathered, it means that tens of millions of people are opposed to the war against Ukraine, given the difficulty many Russians have in accessing the Internet. 

‘Restrictions can be circumvented on the Internet’ 

On social networks, many messages testify both to the vigorous opposition that some Russians have against the war and the government, as well as their reluctance to go and shout it out on the streets. 

 “In the West, foreigners write on social networks, ‘It’s up to the Russians to stop the dictator’ – but how on earth? This monster will crush any protest,” read one comment under a Facebook post. 

“My friends went out to demonstrate in Moscow today with placards. No one joined them,” another user lamented, before ironically remarking in another message: “You have to go out to sing Ukrainian songs: singing is not yet banned!” 

Despite the Russian authorities’ efforts to censor certain online resources, demonstrating opposition to the Russian government seems much less risky on the Internet than on the streets.  

According to Human Rights Watch, Russian authorities have threatened to fine or block several independent Russian media outlets if they do not remove certain publications about the war in Ukraine. The NGO also expressed concern about the sharp rise in censorship. In recent days, Facebook and Twitter have also come under fire from Russia’s communications watchdog, Roskomnadzor, which is now restricting their access. 

However, as Stanislav points out, “on the Internet, restrictions can be circumvented. Many online resources can still be accessed using a VPN (virtual private network), which is widely used. The VPN transmits traffic via servers in a country other than Russia, where sources of information can be blocked”, he added. 

However, he is not satisfied with just this rear base on the Internet. Even if he is alone each time when he goes out to protest – his friends are afraid to demonstrate with him in public – he says he wants to continue to protest on the streets, saying: “Protesting only on the Internet cannot lead to much.” 

This article is a translation from the original in French.

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

An article by Natasha Lomas March 1 from TechCrunch

In a hint of the strength of opposition among Russian professionals to war in Ukraine, an open letter that’s been circulating through the country’s IT industry since the invasion on Thursday — to protest at the act of military aggression and call for peace — has gathered around 30,000 signatories from named IT workers.

Portrait of Natalia Lukyanchikova from her Facebook page

The petition is entitled: “An open letter from representatives of the Russian IT industry against the military operation on the territory of Ukraine.”

The list of names and job titles — some also specifying which company the person works for — includes IT professionals who identify themselves as entrepreneurs, product managers, heads of customer experience, analytics, backend developers, product designers, marketing specialists, devops engineers, iOS engineers, gameplay developers, system analysts, IT recruiters and many, many more.

The Google Document that’s been used to host the petition runs to 652 pages.

The full text of the letter, which is written in Russian, reads [translated with machine translation]:

We, the employees of the Russian IT industry, are categorically against military actions on the territory of Ukraine initiated by the armed forces of the Russian Federation.

We consider any manifestation of force that leads to the outbreak of war unjustified and call for the cancellation of decisions that may inevitably entail human casualties on each side. Our countries have always been close to each other. And today we are worried about our Ukrainian colleagues, friends, relatives. We are concerned and morally oppressed by what is happening in the cities of Ukraine now.

In our work we make the best products, the best service, we sincerely do everything so that Russian IT solutions can be proud of. We want our country to be associated not with war, but with peace and progress.

Progress and development of technologies for the benefit of man are impossible in conditions of war and threats to people’s lives and health, they are possible only in conditions of cooperation, diversity of points of view, information exchange and open dialogue.

We ask the leadership of our country to pay attention to our appeal, find ways to resolve this situation peacefully and prevent human casualties.

(Continued in right column)

Questions related to this article:

 
Can the peace movement help stop the war in the Ukraine?

(Continued from left column)

It’s not possible to verify that all the names listed as signatories are genuine — but we have confirmed that the petition was started by a woman called Natalia Lukyanchikova, who told us she’s an “IT specialist”.

She is also the first signatory of the letter, where she lists herself as a product analyst at recruitment website, hh.ru.

TechCrunch reached Lukyanchikova via email and she explained that she shared the peace petition to her public Facebook page last week — calling for other IT workers to put their names to it and to mobilize to try to get media coverage for the initiative.

We also spoke with another Russian IT worker who told us they had signed the petition — and said lots of people from their tech company, including its CEO, had also signed — but this source requested anonymity to avoid drawing attention to their action because of the risk of retaliation.

In her initial Facebook post to launch the petition, Lukyanchikova wrote [translated from Russian]: “Below is the text of an open letter from the IT community. I don’t know if this will work out, but I know that collective action helps sometimes. This also helps people understand that they are not alone. So far this is the only legal action I see that is not banned. You can sign up via the link in the first comment.”

In subsequent posts to her Facebook page, she can also be seen tracking progress over a handful of days as the number of signatures rises.

The petition appears to have quickly picked up steam among Russia’s IT industry as the country’s invasion of Ukraine stepped up, garnering over 10,000 signatories by Saturday and topping 20,000 by Sunday — before reaching close to 30,000 names now, at the time of writing.

Asked if she believes the petition could have an impact, Lukyanchikova told us: “I want to believe that our voices will be heard and peace will be restored.”

Some media outlets inside Russia have reported on the anti-war letter.

Tech industry publication vc.ru, for example, covered it on Saturday, when it reported that the signatories — then numbering around 1,300 — included employees of Russian tech giants Yandex and VKontakte, among many other types of businesses.

Its report also notes that similar anti-war letters have been published by representatives of other industries from inside the country, such as teachers, scientists and doctors. Although the IT industry letter appears to have gathered the largest number of signatures.

This report was updated with a couple of minor corrections: We originally stated the petition had closed; actually it’s still open to further signatures. Also Lukyanchikova’s job title is ‘product analyst’, not ‘food analyst’ as the machine translation of the cyrillic script displayed in the petition list, which we had used to translate it from Russian, (incorrectly) rendered it. 

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

An article published by the Russian website Meduza (translation by CPNN)

(Editor’s note: The original petition has been withdrawn from all media because of threats to the teachers that have signed it. Only a few lines are published on the Google Doc with the names of the first thousand signatures.

Google explains that 1000 is their limit for signatures but from February 24 to March 4 it had been signed by 5000 people including teachers from almost all regions of Russia: Adygea, Altai Territory, Altai, Arkhangelsk Region, Bashkortostan, Belgorod Region, Bryansk Region, Buryatia, Vladimir Region, Volgograd Region, Vologda Region, Voronezh Region, Dagestan , Trans-Baikal Territory, Ivanovo Region, Irkutsk Region, Kabardino-Balkarian Republic, Kaliningrad Region, Kaluga Region, Kamchatka Territory, Karelia, Komi, Kemerovo Region, Kirov Region, Kostroma Region, Krasnodar Territory, Krasnoyarsk Territory, Kurgan Region, Kursk Region, Leningrad Region region, Lipetsk region, Mari El, Mordovia, Moscow, Moscow region, Murmansk region, Nizhny Novgorod region, Novgorod region, Novosibirsk region, Omsk region, Orenburg region, Perm region,Primorsky Territory, Pskov Region, Rostov Region, Ryazan Region, Samara Region, Saratov Region, St. Petersburg, Sakhalin Region, Sverdlovsk Region, Sevastopol, Smolensk Region, Tambov Region, Tatarstan, Tver Region, Tomsk Region, Tula Region , Udmurtia, Ulyanovsk Region, Chelyabinsk Region, Chuvashia, Chukotka, Yakutia, Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Yaroslavl Region, Khabarovsk Territory, Khakassia).

As follows, the Russian website Meduza gets around the problem by publishing interviews with 5 of the signatories along with the note imposed by Russian authorities that in doing so they are acting as a foreign agent.

“In this situation, it is more terrible to remain silent. It’s a shame to be silent.” More than a thousand Russian teachers openly spoke out against the war with Ukraine. Here is what they say about the invasion – and how they explain what is happening to the students

12:48, February 26, 2022Source: Meduza

This message (material) was created and (or) distributed by a foreign media outlet acting as a foreign agent and (or) a Russian legal entity acting as a foreign agent.

We need your help. Please support Meduza.

On February 25, the day after the start of the war with Ukraine, Russian teachers published a petition in which they openly supported the anti-war protests and demanded a ceasefire. At the time of publication, it was signed by more than 1200 teachers from 65 regions of Russia, as well as from other countries: Italy, USA, France, Estonia, Israel, Sweden and Germany. Meduza has contacted the five faculty members who signed the document and is publishing their monologues.

Ivan Menshikov,mathematics teacher from Moscow, one of the authors of the petition

On the morning of February 24, my colleagues and I had the feeling that something needed to be done. You can’t just sit back and watch such a disaster unfold. The country is heading for the abyss, trying to capture the neighboring country by barbaric methods. I wanted to say that we think it’s terrible. The petition is the first thing that came to my mind.

I wrote the original text , then my colleagues corrected it. On the one hand, I wanted it to be as honest and sincere as possible. On the other hand, we did not want to repel doubting people with too emotional words. It was a complex procedure that took most of the day.

It was an interesting experience for me. When I wrote the petition, I had the feeling that I myself and the minimum number of people around me who also want to speak out need it. But as soon as it appeared [on the network], people immediately began to send it to each other in chat rooms. It began to spread at an insane rate. The link to it was sent to me by people with whom I don’t even have common acquaintances, and literally 15 minutes later [after publication], despite the fact that it was around 11 pm. I quickly realized that people have an urgent need to speak up and make their voices heard in some way.

Of course, students ask us questions [about the war], and each teacher chooses words at his own peril and risk. But we cannot discuss political issues with them . We can only say that war is bad and peace is good. Children, of course, agree with this thesis.

For many children, their parents try to protect them from this information [about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine]. Not all students understand what is happening, and not all are interested. Those who understand, basically broadcast the position of their parents.

Some teachers watch TV and support the current government – and, unfortunately, even this war that our state unleashed. But in my circle, the vast majority considers war unacceptable. I would like to believe that this is the case in our country as a whole.

Of course, I’m afraid to express my protest. But given the hell that’s going on in Kyiv right now – literally a day’s drive away – it’s just a shame to be led by your own fear.

Konstantin, a mathematics teacher from Moscow, asked not to indicate his last name

There is nothing worse than war. As a teacher, I experience this even more acutely. It is important to explain to students that war is bad, and to convey this as clearly and boldly as possible.

Colleagues fully agree with me. There may be disagreements about the reasons [for the invasion] and how clear everything is, but almost everyone agrees that there should be no war and that it is in the power of Russia to stop it.

I discussed the war with the students. I said almost nothing myself, but I felt how important it was for the children to discuss it. My lesson was the first on Thursday [February 24], so I was the first adult they could discuss it with. We did not speak purely about politics, but I tried to convince them that a nightmare was happening, that it was important to talk about it and support each other.

The students themselves talked a lot. Everyone is scared. Some people want to study abroad. Someone because they have families in other regions, and someone in Ukraine. To some, simply because they understand that a gloomy and unpredictable future lies ahead. Some people are worried about other people. Confusion manifests itself in different ways for everyone: someone tries to laugh it off.

I’m talking about high school students. Younger children are more likely not to understand what is happening, but they still feel that something is wrong. I heard about cases when children mocked at this [war with Ukraine]. Even at our school, children said: “We will trample, we will crush.” But I don’t know them personally.

I’m not afraid to voice my protest. Even before this story [with the petition], I wrote a post on VK asking them not to congratulate me on February 23, because it is offensive. Some parents at my last school said it tarnished the image of the teacher worse than the swimsuit photos. But I’m definitely not afraid.

(Continued in right column)

Questions related to this article:

 
Can the peace movement help stop the war in the Ukraine?

(Continued from left column)

Dmitry Kazakov, history teacher from the Nizhny Novgorod region

In terms of my political convictions and worldview, I am an internationalist and a Marxist. I believe that this war is a war of two capitalist powers [Russia and Ukraine]. The result of this confrontation is the death of people, which is categorically unacceptable for me.

Besides, I am a history teacher and I know what wars lead to. Especially imperialist, aimed at satisfying the self-interest of capital. That’s why I signed [the petition].

The profession of a teacher implies the promotion of peace, kindness, mutual understanding and the search for compromises. War is contrary to such a phenomenon as pedagogical work.

All the explanations of this war that our state has given are not explanations. If more specific arguments were given, and not a story of 100 years ago , then maybe I would take a more neutral position. I categorically do not take sides – I do not know much about this confrontation. Why did the war start? Who is right and who is more to blame? But I am sure that any conflict can be resolved peacefully. A bad peace is better than a good war.

The students showed keen interest and asked me questions about the war. I tried not to answer. Not because I’m scared, but because nothing is clear yet. I did not want to endanger those who could misunderstand me, form their opinion, make it public and suffer from it. I said that now you need to have not a hot, but a cold head and hope that the war will end as quickly as possible.

If I was afraid that I would be fired, I would not be a trade union activist. And why be afraid of being fired if the consequences of this war come to us? Then no work will allow you to feel calm.

Anna Sternberg, teacher of Russian language and literature from Izhevsk

I am against war. This is the position of a teacher who teaches literature, universal values, the value of life. It seems to me that everything is logical.

The moods of my colleagues are different, but, of course, there are those who agree with me. I didn’t find out from everyone. I speak with those people who understand me, with whom I am on the same wavelength.

It is not customary for us to talk about these topics with our students. The children asked me how I feel about the war. I said that it was sharply negative, but I did not continue.

This is not the first time I have declared my protest, so I am no longer afraid. In this situation, it is more terrible to remain silent. It’s embarrassing to be silent.

Kirill, geography teacher from St. Petersburg, name changed

These events were divided into before and after both the world and people. I am not a supporter of polar opinions, “black” and “white”, but here everyone should already decide.

The problem of relations with the fraternal country is especially acute for me: my relatives live in Ukraine. Since 2014, it seemed to me that absolute obscurantism was happening.

Now you can no longer stand aside and be silent. We teach children the patriotism that pervades our entire school education system. We always speak with pride about the victories of the past and note the contribution and sacrifices that our country had to endure in the fight against the aggressor [in the Great Patriotic War]. Today we are acting – I don’t want to say “we”, but formally Russia is acting on behalf of the people – the aggressor in this “special operation”.

[After signing the petition,] I spoke as best I could. I can’t go outside: if the case goes to court, I will be forbidden to work [as a teacher]. A teacher cannot have a criminal record. As long as I have the opportunity, at least on the Internet, to express my position without violating the laws (even if they are clumsily made), I will do it to the last.

If the teacher is not bad – and I consider myself a fairly good teacher – he definitely has contact with the children. At the moment I have five ninth grades. And it is on these days that I have to go through the topic of the European south [of Russia] with the guys. Not only do I have to answer [questions] about the disputed borders with Abkhazia and South Ossetia from the point of view of international law, I also have to comment on the presence of Crimea within Russia.

Children in the ninth grade are already adults, they are 15-16 years old, and they ask questions. Of course, when we discuss this region and say that the Donetsk coal basin is part of the Rostov region, they [cling to the word] Donbass. Of course, it is very dangerous to talk about this in class. I can’t lie, but I can’t say much of what I really think either. One has to either remain silent or comment exclusively within the framework of economic geography. And children perfectly feel lies and falsehood.

Students have different attitudes towards war. In many ways, their attitude forms the informational background in the family. Whatever we say about the role of school and society in shaping a child, the role of the family is the leading one. I know many parents and often see that children broadcast their thoughts. Of course, I don’t let them [students’ conversations about politics] develop into a dialogue in a raised voice: after all, the key task of the lesson is to provide subject knowledge and basic competencies. But children still hear different opinions.

I am definitely afraid. That is why I did not go yesterday [February 24] to Nevsky [Prospect, where the protesters in St. Petersburg went]. Can I be fired? According to modern legislation, it is extremely difficult to dismiss a teacher who works according to the rules and performs his functions well. At the same time, any system (primarily the school administration) can create unbearable working conditions. But since this is not the first time in my time at school—and indeed in the history of our country—that I have had to make jeopardizing choices, I rely on a certain amount of rationality in the higher-ups who make decisions about my working conditions.

So far, I have not broken any law: no one forbade us to sign public petitions. The text of the petition does not contain any insults or calls – except for the call to stop the war, which, regardless of the position of the person, cannot be questioned. At least I still have that hope.

Teachers are not ready to do everything the state tells them to do. Teachers not only teach critical thinking, but also master it themselves.

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An article by CPNN based on multiple sources, as given.

The Board of Directors of Lukoil, the largest private company in Russia, has issued a statement opposing the Russian invasion of the Ukraine. Here is the statement carried on the Lukoil website:

STATEMENT OF LUKOIL BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Thursday, March 3, 2022

Dear Shareholders, Employees and Customers of LUKOIL,
The Board of Directors of LUKOIL expresses herewith its deepest concerns about the tragic events in Ukraine. Calling for the soonest termination of the armed conflict, we express our sincere empathy for all victims, who are affected by this tragedy. We strongly support a lasting ceasefire and a settlement of problems through serious negotiations and diplomacy.

video from Euronews

The company makes every effort to continue its operations in all countries and regions where it is present, committed to its primary mission of a reliable supplier of energy to consumers around the world.

In its activities, LUKOIL aspires to contribute to peace, international relations and humanitarian ties.

Board of Directors, LUKOIL

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Questions related to this article:

 
Can the peace movement help stop the war in the Ukraine?

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According to CNN, Lukoil produces more than 2% of the world’s crude oil and employs over 100,000 people.

Lukoil’s statement is the first major corporate success for the sanctions imposed by the West following the Russian invasion of the Ukraine. This is explained on the Russian website VC: “Since February 15, the company’s capitalization at its peak has fallen by 57 percent. On Thursday, 03 March 2022, depositary receipts for the company’s shares traded on the London Stock Exchange ceased to be traded and the company was suspended. The reason for this step was the sanctions imposed by England in response to Russia’s invasion of sovereign Ukraine. . . Lukoil co-owner Vagit Alekperov has been losing billions of dollars since February 24 due to Western sanctions related to Russia’s war against Ukraine. Alekperov hid his yacht from sanctions in Montenegro. In this regard, he was more fortunate: for example, Usmanov’s yacht will not leave the port of Hamburg, the German state is preparing to nationalize it.”

VC considers that the sanctions are likely to have additional similar effects causing Russians to oppose the war: “The expression by the board of directors of PJSC Lukoil of its negative position regarding what is happening in Ukraine was the “first sign” that flew in from the camp of the Russian business elite, and it reflects not only the beginning of a change of mood, but also a willingness to declare this change openly.”

More information on the effect of the sanctions on Lukoil is provided by CNN: “Lukoil shares listed in London have lost roughly 99% of their value following the invasion. Dealing in the company’s stock was suspended on Thursday. The oil giant is already facing calls for a boycott in the United States, where there are 230 Lukoil gasoline stations owned by American franchisees. Most of the service stations that carry the Lukoil brand are in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.”

Although Russia has blocked many news services from the West and most Russians are not likely to be reading press releases from Lukoil, the news of the Lukoil statement is being carried on many Russian independent media sources in addition to the Euronews video and the VC article mentioned above. These include За рулем, T-Journal, Kommersant, Sports (because Lukoil is a major sponsor of sporting events), Interfax, Rambler finance, Postimees and MigNews.

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An article by Jennifer Mathers from The Conversation (republished under a Creative Commons license)

What do ordinary Russians think about the war that Vladimir Putin has unleashed on Ukraine? The Kremlin’s justifications: that Ukraine’s leadership has been subjecting ethnic Russians in that country to genocide  and that the government in Kyiv is led by neo-Nazis  appear far-fetched to most people outside Russia. So does the idea that Russia had to strike first to prevent Ukraine  from becoming a springboard for a Nato attack on Russia. But that’s what the Russian people have been told.

Distraught: Russian soldiers’ mothers with pictures of their sons killed in Chechnya, 1995. EPA/Sergei Chirikov

Some Russians certainly haven’t accepted these notions and oppose the invasion. Several thousand people have been arrested in cities  across the country for participating in protests. And a growing number of respected figures in Russia  have made public statements against the war in Ukraine, including celebrities  who are using their social media accounts to express their political views.

But while social media is providing young people with alternative explanations for this war, it is the older generations who represent the bedrock of Putin’s popular base of support. And older people tend to get their news from state-controlled television   rather than from social media or by seeking out Russia’s remaining independent news media that exist mainly online.

This support for Putin and his war is now at risk, however, as a direct result of the way that Russia treats its own soldiers and their families.

Within a few days of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Russian independent news organisation Meduza published an article  highlighting the shock and anger of the families of Russian conscripts when they discovered that their sons had been sent into battle. Russian law prohibits the use of conscripts in combat, so these parents had no reason to believe that their loved ones were in the front lines of Putin’s “special military operation” in Ukraine.

According to the families that Meduza interviewed, conscripts are being coerced into signing contracts of voluntary service to change their status and provide some legal cover for sending them to war.

Changes to the status of conscripts is not the only information that Russia is keeping from soldiers’ families. According to a presidential decree that  Putin signed in 2015, all military deaths are a state secret. This means that frantic families who contact the Ministry of Defence asking for information about the welfare of their sons are routinely met either with silence or delaying tactics, such as advice to contact a unit commander directly or write to the Red Cross.

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Questions related to this article:

 
Can the peace movement help stop the war in the Ukraine?

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Ukraine has seemingly taken a very different approach. According to news reports, when Russian soldiers are captured they are allowed to phone their families , both to assure those back home that they are alive but also to convey to them the reality of this war.

If there is one thing that can effectively counter the Kremlin’s narrative about its use of force in Ukraine, it is personal knowledge  from trusted sources of information – such as the testimony of combatants delivered to their parents. And these parents will share this knowledge with their extended family, with neighbours, with co-workers, and with friends.

Committee of Soldiers’ Mothers

In fact, the news is already spreading , and families with sons in the army who have not heard from them directly are pleading with the only other source of information and advocacy in Russia about members of the armed forces: the Committee of Soldiers’ Mothers .

The Committee of Soldiers’ Mothers began during the Soviet war in Afghanistan as a network of locally based initiatives led by the families – principally the mothers – of soldiers to lobby the Kremlin for their safe return. The committee rapidly grew in size and moral authority and expanded its remit  to put pressure on Moscow to put an end to the practice of dedovshchina. This is “hazing” – routine physical abuse meted out by senior conscripts to new arrivals in the unit that sometimes ended in serious injury or even death.

The organisation came to prominence during Russia’s first war in Chechnya (1994-1996), when it organised the Mothers’ March for Life and Compassion . This involved hundreds of middle aged women travelling to the war zone to find their sons and bring them back home.

Outrage at the mistreatment of conscripts spread throughout Russia at the grassroots level and undermined the entire basis of staffing the armed forces. Advised by the Committee of Soldiers’ Mothers on legal ways to avoid military service  and supported by their families, young men of conscription age withdrew their labour from the state, sparking a crisis of recruitment  and retention that the Russian armed forces have only recently begun to recover from.

Failure of reform

The war in Ukraine is Russia’s first large-scale use of force since the start of a serious effort at  military reform  following Russia’s 2008 war in Georgia. Previous military operations either involved small numbers of highly trained forces (the annexation of Crimea in 2014 , the military intervention in Syria   since 2015) or covert support for proxies (the war in the Donbas , 2014-2022).

Despite a decade of reform  and a  significant increase in resources , what we have seen so far suggests that the attitudes in the Ministry of Defence towards the treatment of soldiers and their families have not changed much since the late Soviet period.

This could turn out to be a costly oversight. Putin’s tenure in the Kremlin is not necessarily dependent upon public opinion. But significant shifts in the mood of ordinary Russians will certainly undermine morale. This could cause some of the powerful figures that surround the president to question the wisdom of continuing down the current path, and perhaps also with the current leader.