Protests by the wives of the mobilized: why Russian oppositionists do not join the rallies

In Russia, the movement of the wives of conscripts who were sent to the war in Ukraine has intensified. Women who hold actions calling for their husbands to return home have even been supported by the so-called Russian oppositionists, in particular Maxim Kats, Alexey Navalny, Boris Nadezhdin.

< p>However, their support is shown only in words, because not a single representative of the opposition came to the rally. Political scientist, executive director of the International Association of Small Communities Alexey Buryachenko gave 24 Channel two reasons why the oppositionists are not personally present at the rallies.

Russians do not need to defend their rights

First of all, Russian oppositionists are afraid to join rallies. As the political scientist noted, few people are happy to be behind bars now, and the Russian special services and security forces are in a special stage of aggravation during the pre-election period, so they screw everyone, especially the most radical politicians.

We must understand that Navalny is essentially an imperialist, and even the majority of the opposition-liberal wing of Russian politics, who are supposedly negatively opposed to the Putin regime and are ready to fight it, are also imperialists in the overwhelming majority,” Buryachenko said.

The cult of Joseph Stalin, Peter I, and the Tsar-Father has been imposed on the Russians for too long. Now this analogy is being transferred to Vladimir Putin.

Russians are imperials. They are completely different people, they have an Asian mentality, so they are happy to obey and rejoice in their global empire of the Russian world,” the political scientist noted.

Most Russians, unlike Ukrainians , there is no need to fight the totalitarian regime and defend your rights.

“Unfortunately, I still don’t see any real grounds for the citizens of Russia to find strength in themselves and destroy Putin's regime is inside. I think this still needs a lot of time,” added Buryachenko.

What needs to be done for Russians to come out to protest en masse

According to the political scientist, Russians have protest potential, because this can even be seen from mass movements, for example, in Bashkortostan.

The formula is this: the further from the Kremlin, the more massive and radical the protest movements. I am deeply convinced that this trend will continue. Indeed, within the framework of the so-called partial mobilization, the Russians are rowing not only prisoners, but also people from the republics, from the outback of Russia, – Buryachenko emphasized.

According to him, in this way the Kremlin is simultaneously solves several issues – reduces the number of the male population in those parts of the federation that have a goal of their subjectivization.

The totalitarian system and propaganda pressure are doing “fantastic” things to Russians. Members of families who have even lost their husbands and children cannot officially complain anywhere, cannot blame either Putin or the Kremlin.

When you look for mothers who first happily send their children to war, and then with joy and gratitude to Putin receive coffins, then you understand that this society is extremely sick and poisoned by propaganda,” said the political scientist.

< p>He noted that in order for these people to come out en masse to rallies, they first need to do a serious detoxification of information.

Protests of women mobilized Russians

• In the early autumn of 2023, the “Way Home” movement was born in Russia. It was organized by the relatives of the Russian military, who are dissatisfied with the conditions in which their husbands are. this issue. Now women are demanding the complete demobilization of their husbands – they are putting forward claims personally against Vladimir Putin.
• On February 3, the wives of mobilized Russians once again held a rally in the center of Moscow demanding the return of their husbands home. Previously, the authorities ignored such protests in every possible way, but not this time. Security forces detained journalists who were recording the action of the “Way Home” movement.
• ISW analysts are convinced that the Kremlin was alarmed by this incident. It is likely that the Russian authorities are resorting in advance to so-called censorship and discrediting social movements of relatives of Russian soldiers in order to avoid repeating the unpleasant experience of the USSR in the late 1980s and early 1990s.