February 29, 2024

"Small" Acts of Protest Keep Anti-War Effort Alive


"Small" Acts of Protest Keep Anti-War Effort Alive
An example of subtle protest art integrated into everyday Russian life.  NoWobble.net.

Russian protestors and artists against the war in Ukraine are going to great lengths to express their dissent while avoiding being prosecuted for their views. A collection of anonymous works is now available online.

Last year, artist Alexandra Arkhipova began collecting instances of "small" protests: graffiti on city streets, stickers left on supermarket shelves, action figures carrying tiny signs photographed on playgrounds. These pictures can be found on her website "Nyet Voblye" or "No Wobble," (or literally “No Dried Fish”) play on the widespread slogan "No to War." Along with the pictures, she has assembled the stories of protestors who hope to keep making their voices heard. One such story is of a St. Petersburg citizen who places dolls around the city at night, hoping they will be found by children the next day, who will bring them home without noticing the yellow and blue ribbons in their hair. Others paste stickers on lampposts with lines of protest poetry by Osip Mandelstam or Bulat Okudzhava

Arkhipova hopes that passersby will notice the small acts of protest and know that they have "invisible allies."

The legal consequences of being discovered by the authorities are real: Since the beginning of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in March 2022, over 8,055 charges of "discrediting" the army have been filed in local courts, and in the first six months of 2023 alone, 21 people were convicted of "disseminating false information" about the war. 

You Might Also Like

Navalny Launches Antiwar Campaign
  • June 21, 2023

Navalny Launches Antiwar Campaign

Politician and political prisoner Alexei Navaly is launching a "big propaganda machine" to counter Putin and pro-war propaganda.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

At the Circus (bilingual)

At the Circus (bilingual)

This wonderful novella by Alexander Kuprin tells the story of the wrestler Arbuzov and his battle against a renowned American wrestler. Rich in detail and characterization, At the Circus brims with excitement and life. You can smell the sawdust in the big top, see the vivid and colorful characters, sense the tension build as Arbuzov readies to face off against the American.
Chekhov Bilingual

Chekhov Bilingual

Some of Chekhov's most beloved stories, with English and accented Russian on facing pages throughout. 
Murder at the Dacha

Murder at the Dacha

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin has a problem. Several, actually. Not the least of them is the fact that a powerful Soviet boss has been murdered, and Matyushkin's surly commander has given him an unreasonably short time frame to close the case.
Murder and the Muse

Murder and the Muse

KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.
Turgenev Bilingual

Turgenev Bilingual

A sampling of Ivan Turgenev's masterful short stories, plays, novellas and novels. Bilingual, with English and accented Russian texts running side by side on adjoining pages.
Survival Russian

Survival Russian

Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words.
White Magic

White Magic

The thirteen tales in this volume – all written by Russian émigrés, writers who fled their native country in the early twentieth century – contain a fair dose of magic and mysticism, of terror and the supernatural. There are Petersburg revenants, grief-stricken avengers, Lithuanian vampires, flying skeletons, murders and duels, and even a ghostly Edgar Allen Poe.
Jews in Service to the Tsar

Jews in Service to the Tsar

Benjamin Disraeli advised, “Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.” With Jews in Service to the Tsar, Lev Berdnikov offers us 28 biographies spanning five centuries of Russian Jewish history, and each portrait opens a new window onto the history of Eastern Europe’s Jews, illuminating dark corners and challenging widely-held conceptions about the role of Jews in Russian history.
Okudzhava Bilingual

Okudzhava Bilingual

Poems, songs and autobiographical sketches by Bulat Okudzhava, the king of the Russian bards. 

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955