The Kremlin’s new tactics: why Russian security forces do not touch the wives of conscripts

In Moscow on February 3, the wives of mobilized Russians held another rally for the return of their husbands home. The security forces intervened, but they detained not women, but journalists.

Russian opposition journalist Igor Yakovenko commented on 24 Channel new Kremlin tactics in dealing with protesters. According to him, the Putin regime is afraid not of the women themselves, but of their husbands, who are in the trenches on the front line with weapons in their hands.

“Arrange a picture , how a Russian Guard member who has become disgruntled in the rear beats the wife of a mobilized man when the husband is at the front can hardly contribute to any positive processes. Therefore, they try to behave with these wives not only more politely, but in any case not in the same way as they usually do with any other citizens,” explained Yakovenko.

So, the wives of those mobilized have so far avoided the “classical form of communication”: no one beat them with batons, did not break their hands, or drag them into a paddy wagon. And the fact that security forces detained journalists should not be surprising, because this is a “legitimate goal” for them.

The wives of the mobilized do not yet pose a threat

Despite a certain intensification of the wives of the mobilized, who are no longer limited to demands “bring back our husbands”, but are calling for an end to the war and sometimes they say something against Vladimir Putin, their movement is quite modest.

There are very few of them regarding what could be. At least half a million are part of the occupation army, then there must be approximately several hundred thousand mobilized wives. And there are several zeros less of them,” stated Yakovenko.

That is why the Russian authorities are not too concerned about this movement. What will happen next – time will tell.

Protests of the wives of those mobilized in Russia: the main thing

• Presumably, the first meeting of the mobilized wives took place on November 7 in Moscow. Within a few minutes they were dispersed by Russian security forces.
• Subsequently, the movement began to become radical. The wives of those mobilized on January 20 came to Vladimir Putin's reception with a demand to sign a decree on demobilization. . To demonstrate his concern, Putin met with the families of the dead occupiers.