Since February 2022, about 20,000 people have been detained at anti-war protests in Russia, according to human rights project OVD-Info, with almost 900 of these cases leading to prosecution.
Despite the intimidation, Russian activists who oppose the war in Ukraine still put up resistance to the Kremlin’s policies. Where do they find the courage? Three tell their story.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Since February 2022, about 20,000 people have been detained at anti-war protests in Russia, according to human rights project OVD-Info, with almost 900 of these cases leading to prosecution.
All of that changed in 2020 with the mass protests following the disputed Belarus elections and the poisoning of recently deceased Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny.
The desire to help other Russians crushed under the wheels of the Kremlin’s oppression machine pushed her to start attending court trials as an observer.
Natalya decided to join other activists, helping distribute donations to refugees and supporting people to find doctors and psychologists.
Most of his clients have been found guilty of “discrediting the army” or violating the rules for holding a rally but have only received a minimal fine.
“Hearing a case in court is a platform where a client and their defense lawyer can talk about what happened without it falling into oblivion,” says Aptekar.
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Okay but just slowly putting on a clown nose when draconic rulings are made in court is amazing. Surprised she hasn’t been arrested yet.