Wives of mobilised Russians protest within earshot of Kremlin
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Ms Maria Andreeva holding a placard outside the Russian Defence Ministry in Moscow on Jan 6. It reads: "Is 2024 (declared) the Year of the Family? Get the mobilised (soldiers) back to their families!"
PHOTO: REUTERS
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MOSCOW – Wives of Russians mobilised to fight in Ukraine symbolically laid flowers on Jan 6 at the flame of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier right beneath the walls of the Kremlin and demanded the return of their husbands from the front.
Anger has been growing for months among relatives of reservists whom President Vladimir Putin mobilised in September 2022,
The mobilisation is a sensitive subject for the authorities,
Jan 6 saw some 15 women brave the winter cold to place red flowers at the site in the heart of the capital.
“We want to draw the authorities’ attention and that of the public to our appeal. We have tried several means. We made a written appeal to lawmakers, officials, administrations – but we were not heard,” 47-year-old sales manager Maria, whose husband was mobilised in November 2022, told AFP.
“It’s not fair. They are civilians, they are not soldiers. Our husbands can’t stay there,” she added.
Ms Maria Semyonova, a legal assistant, urged the authorities to “negotiate peace” in Ukraine at a protest where police did not intervene.
Usually, protests against the conflict
Paulina, the mother of a one-year-old child, said the protest is the only peaceful action that has not yet been banned by law.
“I feel like we’re annoying them. But no one will remain silent. We shall carry on every day, every Saturday; we’ll lay flowers” to draw attention to the situation, she said.
“At some point, it will be impossible to ignore us,” added Paulina, saying she was determined to get her husband back.
Relatives of Russian soldiers gathering to lay flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Moscow, on Jan 6.
PHOTO: AFP
Russian state media has to date largely ignored the women’s protest, with the Kremlin keen to project an image of national unity ahead of presidential elections later in 2024, where Mr Putin expects to secure another term.
According to Mr Putin, 244,000 Russians have been mobilised to fight in Ukraine in a total force of 617,000. AFP
