“If bombs fall from above, ask for help or enter the nearest room,” says a sign hanging in the stairwell of a government office in Russia. After all, someone has pasted a note that says: “I am witnessing the fall of Russia, of morality and common sense. But there is nowhere to go. The point of no return is behind us. Before us there is only fear and despair ”.
Next to the writing is a drawing of a bloody Russian flag. In the past couple of months, graffiti like this has become a part of the landscape of many cities across Russia, especially after anti-war protests and vigils on Ukraine have begun to be suppressed. It is part of a larger anti-war protest, a work involving many feminist leaders. “In feminist protest everyone does what is within her reach. We have no defined tasks and a division of labor… It would seem that we do everything but derail trains, ”Ekaterina (not her real name), a feminist activist living in St. Petersburg, tells on the phone.
Worsening of life
Since the invasion began on February 24, more than 15,000 people in Russia have been arrested for participating in a demonstration or vigil. Whoever is on the first stop and is not showing a sign usually only gets a fine. But according to harsh new reporting laws regarding Russian military or government institutions, a second arrest within a year could result in a lengthy prison sentence. The same goes for anyone who displays an anti-war cartel.
“People, especially in democratic countries, don’t understand the price of protest in Russia,” says Varia Mikhailova, a lawyer for a human rights group who left her country for Israel two months ago. According to the new censorship law or laws limiting protests, any violation “does not only risk a fine, imprisonment or arrest, but also dismissal or suspension from studies, or both,” she adds. “In a very short time this causes an extreme worsening of a person’s life on all fronts. There aren’t enough lawyers for everyone who gets hit. Russia is a big country and human rights organizations don’t have enough resources to offer help everywhere. Furthermore, people are not aware of their rights and do not know where to turn ”.
The most common – and relatively safe – way to organize an anonymous operation in the former Soviet Union is Telegram. An antiwar feminist channel – which has tens of thousands of subscribers – shares proposals for clandestine protest operations, while documenting efforts already underway. It also keeps the identities of the women who run it hidden.
Improvised memorials – usually crosses – are erected to the victims of Mariupol, Buča and other places in Ukraine. The crosses usually have slips of paper attached with the names of Ukrainian cities, information on the victims and appeals against the war. They arise in public places, far from the security cameras that cover Russian cities: in the courtyards of houses, in parks and next to statues and official monuments. About a week ago the administrators of the Telegram channel wrote that 850 such monuments had been set up in 56 Russian cities.
Some women wear bags or jewelry with pacifist slogans and turn the bag hiding the anti-war symbols when necessary, for example if there is a policeman around. Some take public transit and start watching images of the war on their phones, trying to strike up a conversation if another passenger notices what’s on the screen.
Embroidery and pigeons
Other women are active on social networks, targeting less educated audiences on sites like Odnoklassniki and VKontakte. Another initiative is to hang bird feeders on trees with a protest notice board or anti-war slogans. Natalia (not her real name), also from St. Petersburg, stitches anti-war messages onto bags and shirts. She sometimes writes only part of the slogan, so that the reader can complete it themselves. She then she sells the final product to raise money for Ukrainian refugees. “I went to the courtyard of my building to take a photo of one of these bags. I hung it from a bush, a woman saw it and asked me aggressively what I was doing and why, ”she says.
“I could see it on her face that she was going to call the police, but I told her I was doing it just for fun. She then she left and in the end the police did not come. Apparently she didn’t know who I was and what apartment I lived in. Eventually I managed to ship the bag overseas, to sell it and donate the money. So she turned out very well ”.
In view of May 1, the administrators of the feminist anti-war channel had called for a different action: go out and go to the squares and streets that have the word “peace” in their name and feed the pigeons. “Don’t be ashamed to start a conversation with the person who feeds the pigeons next to you, but observe the rules of caution. Don’t rush to reveal personal information, don’t tell your protest experiences, don’t give your personal data but only your account on Telegram, Signal or Element, ”says Natalia, referring to the messaging apps that are considered safe.
The city speaks
Anti-war protest is a burning secret in many Russian cities, and one of its main centers is St. Petersburg, the second largest city in the country, with a large population of educated and liberal people. And in the “northern capital” the security forces are not considered particularly threatening. “The whole city center is full of graffiti,” says Natalia. “This battle is visible on the walls of the buildings. One day you read the message ‘no to war’, the next day you see that someone tried to cancel it, and shortly after you see that they have drawn a Z on it ”, a sign of support for the war. Another woman adds: “This dialogue goes on all the time. The city speaks; seeing this thing makes you happy ”.
Another sign that authorities see St. Petersburg as a center of discontent was the search for offenders in the early days of the war.
The affair began in early March, when the homes of dozens of activists were searched on the basis of suspicion that they were spreading false messages concerning anti-personnel mines being placed throughout the city. Some of the suspects were feminist activists, and some of them left Russia for fear of being arrested.
Danielle, a non-binary person living in St. Petersburg, follows the feminists’ Telegram channel and brings to life the ideas published on the platform: sticking stickers all over the city and putting notes into circulation with pacifist slogans or information about the people killed in the course written on them. Of the war. “It is really easy for me to use these bills in small grocery stores. They are usually small denominations, from one hundred rubles, which traders do not check. The scribbled bills are valid, so it’s not a crime, ”Danielle says on a secure messaging app. “Other times I leave books lying around where I wrote something against the war on the inside cover. I simply ‘forgot’ the books on the park benches – it doesn’t create any suspicion. I really like this action. It is interesting to imagine what the person who opens the book thinks and feels. After all, he can’t rip the page because it’s on the inside cover – he has to deal with that information, ”adds Danielle.
“The public works workers here coat the murals with paint, but even in my neighborhood, which is very apolitical, I recently walked around with a pack of stickers and noticed there were a lot more anti-war writings on the walls, and even flyers. It was very nice”. When asked if she’s afraid, Danielle asks if she can use foul language and then she replies with one of the Russians’ favorite swear words: “PizdyetsI am terribly afraid “.
Alexandra Skočilenko, a St. Petersburg artist, has been detained for over two weeks, a period which has been extended until June 1. She replaced supermarket labels with notes bearing information about the war – another method developed by the feminist antiwar resistance. A customer called the police and security camera footage set her up.
Skočilenko is now accused of spreading false information about the Russian army; under a new law passed in early March, she could be sentenced to up to ten years in prison. Her friends explain that the woman has celiac disease and needs gluten-free food, which she is not available in prison. The penitentiary does not allow her to receive suitable food, endangering her life.
Meanwhile, support for political prisoners has turned into full-fledged anti-war protests. Together with dozens of activists, Natalia went to the hearing on the extension of Skočilenko’s imprisonment. “I was unable to enter the classroom because there were already fifty people and there was only room for twenty. We waited in the corridor. At one point the judge forbade taking photos and recording in the courtroom and the people who remained reported on the hearing with text messages, ”says Natalia. “Afterwards, [il giudice] he decided that the hearing would be held behind closed doors, so he kicked everyone out. We sat and waited for hours, and in the end they kept her in jail ”.
“I know I’m sitting on a powder keg,” adds Ekaterina, who is currently engaged in dissemination on the internet. When asked how effective silent protest is, she replies: “She gives you a reason to feel that there is action, and not a little, that it is still possible to do something. And the pro-war people at least know that there is an alternative view ”.
Danielle, who recently attended a benefit show for political prisoner Skočilenko at the group’s headquarters, says: “There were over a hundred people there that I didn’t know; it was so busy and so beautiful. People would greet each other, and exchange jokes like ‘Hi, we’ve been in jail together’. It was especially fun when we opened the windows and continued singing. ”
Perhaps the clandestine feminist protest cannot persuade Vladimir Putin to end his attack on Ukraine, but it does make many opponents of the war – those who remain in Russia – feel alone.
(Translation by Francesco De Lellis)