September 29, 2022

Resistance, Mobilized


Resistance, Mobilized
"No to War! No to Mobilization!" This sign employs wordplay with the Russian word for "grave," mogila, to say, "No to Gravification!" Twitter, Matthew Luxmoore

Shortly after President Putin's speech on September 21, Russians took to the streets to rally against the recently announced partial mobilization against Ukraine.

It didn't take long, however, for the state to begin arresting the protesters. By the end of the day, several hundred had been detained. The protests took place throughout the country. Crowds formed quickly in Siberian and far-eastern cities, where reports say people were arrested within minutes of arriving. 

As the day wore on, protests began growing in western Russia, appearing in major cities like St. Petersburg. Not long after the protests kicked off, the police showed up to encircle and arrest the protesters.

The partial mobilization comes after Ukraine's recent, and very successful, counteroffensive against the Russian forces in Kharkiv. Current expectations show that up to 300,000 Russians will be brought out of the reserves to fight.

Meanwhile, a line of cars stretching 5-10 miles long waited at the Russian-Georgian border, as draft-eligible Russians fled the country.

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