Putin's crackdown. Feminists and critics silenced amid Ukraine invasion
6:43 AM EDT, April 28, 2024
The Russian government is going to great lengths to convince society of the justness of its attack on Ukraine. It has met all expressions of anti-war sentiment with repression, labelling organizations that call for the conflict's end as national enemies. Few groups have escaped the scrutiny of Vladimir Putin.
Since the onset of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Vladimir Putin has staunchly opposed anyone criticizing his troops' offensive against Ukraine. The crackdown is not limited to those who actively oppose the regime or disseminate information it has censored; it also targets anyone simply opposed to the war and ensuing violence.
Russia persists in describing its actions as a "special military operation," a euphemism masking the true nature of the invasion. Despite more than two years passing since the invasion began at full scale, the Russian government is aggressively fighting those attempting to share accurate news from the front lines and international sources.
The list of "undesirable organizations," claimed to act against the interests of the Russian Federation, continues to grow rapidly, with new associations being added regularly. Recently, feminists have also been targeted and added to this list.
Russian feminists opposing the war find themselves on Putin's "blacklist"
This refers to the Anti-War Feminist Resistance, a women's organization that organises anti-war efforts within Russia. Their opposition to the war led to the AFR (the official acronym for the group) being classified as an "undesirable organization," making its operations illegal in Russia.
The Anti-War Feminist Resistance is a collective of Russian feminists promoting grassroots initiatives and anti-war efforts, established immediately following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces. The group aims to break the information blockade and disseminate facts about the conflict in Ukraine, according to its members. Activists have warned that participating in their activities carries risks, as reported by the independent Russian portal Medusa.io.
The FAS has previously drawn the attention of Russian officials. The first instance occurred in December 2022 when the group was dubbed a "foreign agent."
A month after, Daria Serenko, one of the movement's founders, was also labelled as a foreign agent, and by April 2024, the once unprosecuted activist was officially declared wanted. She is outside Russia, and the specific allegations against her remain unclear.
