January 08, 2024

The Women with the White Scarves


The Women with the White Scarves
A woman wearing a white scarf with a sign reading, "Bring the mobilized home! Down [with] recruitment slavery!"  Put Domoy, Telegram

In December, women wearing white scarves protested solo in the Moscow cold. They left flowers for Russian soldiers killed in Ukraine at the Tomb of the Unkown Soldier and held signs in front of different government buildings demanding the return of their husbands and sons.

Put' Domoy (The Way Home) is an over-9,000-member Telegram channel that brings together family members of mobilized soldiers to advocate for their return from the front. On November 27, 2023, Put' Domoy circulated a petition to put a one-year time limit for serving at the front, institute a commission for wounded soldiers, and expand the list of diseases that can qualify someone as ineligible for the draft. In an open letter to President Vladimir Putin, organizers wrote, "We were f*cked, and you [Putin] will be f*cked. too." 

The women-led Telegram channel has often tried to hold rallies in cities across Russia but were blocked by local authorities, who cited COVID-19 restrictions. Security forces knocked on soldiers' wives' doors in Krasnoyarsk Krai and Kemerovo Oblast. However, the women aren't just considered local threats. According to Kommersant, the wives of soldiers are one of the main concerns for the Kremlin in the March elections. In response, regional officials attempted to "extinguish [Put' Domoy] with money." 

Yet, on December 6, 15 women deposited flowers on the memorial at the Kremlin wall to fallen Soviet soldiers during World War II. Then, they picketed alone in front of the Ministry of Defense, the Presidential Administration, and the Supreme Court buildings. The women wore white scarves referencing the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo, a group of Argentinian women who organized rallies looking for their children who were disappeared by the country's military dictatorship in the late seventies and early eighties. 

President Putin declared 2024 "the year of the family," enraging families of drafted soldiers. In response, Maria Andreyeva, a Put' Domoy member and a mobilized soldier's wife, told SOTA,  "They have nullified us, written us off along with our husbands."

You Might Also Like

An Anti-War Art Awakening
  • December 18, 2023

An Anti-War Art Awakening

Anonymous artist Zless creates anti-war art that juxtaposes traditional Russian symbols and the horrors of the invasion of Ukraine.
  • October 11, 2023

"Our Men Are Not Slaves; Bring Them Home"

Relatives of mobilized Russians are demanding the return of loved ones who have been at war for an extended period. Russian authorities are censoring their messages.
There Is Only Death There
  • September 28, 2023

There Is Only Death There

New statistics reveal that one in five mobilized Russians did not survive even two months in the Russian war in Ukraine.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

22 Russian Crosswords

22 Russian Crosswords

Test your knowledge of the Russian language, Russian history and society with these 22 challenging puzzles taken from the pages of Russian Life magazine. Most all the clues are in English, but you must fill in the answers in Russian. If you get stumped, of course all the puzzles have answers printed at the back of the book.
The Moscow Eccentric

The Moscow Eccentric

Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.
The Little Golden Calf

The Little Golden Calf

Our edition of The Little Golden Calf, one of the greatest Russian satires ever, is the first new translation of this classic novel in nearly fifty years. It is also the first unabridged, uncensored English translation ever, and is 100% true to the original 1931 serial publication in the Russian journal 30 Dnei. Anne O. Fisher’s translation is copiously annotated, and includes an introduction by Alexandra Ilf, the daughter of one of the book’s two co-authors.
Russia Rules

Russia Rules

From the shores of the White Sea to Moscow and the Northern Caucasus, Russian Rules is a high-speed thriller based on actual events, terrifying possibilities, and some really stupid decisions.
A Taste of Chekhov

A Taste of Chekhov

This compact volume is an introduction to the works of Chekhov the master storyteller, via nine stories spanning the last twenty years of his life.
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.
Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

In this comprehensive, quixotic and addictive book, Edwin Trommelen explores all facets of the Russian obsession with vodka. Peering chiefly through the lenses of history and literature, Trommelen offers up an appropriately complex, rich and bittersweet portrait, based on great respect for Russian culture.
The Latchkey Murders

The Latchkey Murders

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin is back on the case in this prequel to the popular mystery Murder at the Dacha, in which a serial killer is on the loose in Khrushchev’s Moscow...
A Taste of Russia

A Taste of Russia

The definitive modern cookbook on Russian cuisine has been totally updated and redesigned in a 30th Anniversary Edition. Layering superbly researched recipes with informative essays on the dishes' rich historical and cultural context, A Taste of Russia includes over 200 recipes on everything from borshch to blini, from Salmon Coulibiac to Beef Stew with Rum, from Marinated Mushrooms to Walnut-honey Filled Pies. A Taste of Russia shows off the best that Russian cooking has to offer. Full of great quotes from Russian literature about Russian food and designed in a convenient wide format that stays open during use.
The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar

The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar

The fables of Ivan Krylov are rich fonts of Russian cultural wisdom and experience – reading and understanding them is vital to grasping the Russian worldview. This new edition of 62 of Krylov’s tales presents them side-by-side in English and Russian. The wonderfully lyrical translations by Lydia Razran Stone are accompanied by original, whimsical color illustrations by Katya Korobkina.
93 Untranslatable Russian Words

93 Untranslatable Russian Words

Every language has concepts, ideas, words and idioms that are nearly impossible to translate into another language. This book looks at nearly 100 such Russian words and offers paths to their understanding and translation by way of examples from literature and everyday life. Difficult to translate words and concepts are introduced with dictionary definitions, then elucidated with citations from literature, speech and prose, helping the student of Russian comprehend the word/concept in context.

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