Protests erupted across the country after news of the ‘military operations’ in Ukraine reached all corners of the nation. Thousands of people came out and took to the streets, quickly filling up city squares and centers to protest against the government’s decision to invade Ukraine. Since Thursday evening, Russian domestic forces responded by issuing warnings and detaining hundreds of protestors.
Protesters started assembling in 53 cities, including Moscow, St. Petersburg, and in the remote eastern Siberian city of Novosibirsk to show their discontent with the government’s actions, according to OVD-Info, a protest monitoring group whose website was banned by Moscow in 2021 during a broader crackdown on domestic dissent. Videos on social media platforms, posted by civilians on the ground and media portals, showed large numbers of heavily armed forces filling the streets and arresting protestors. At least 1,745 people in 54 Russian cities were detained, at least 957 of them from Moscow, according to OVD-info.
Marina Litvinovich, a prominent human rights Moscow-based activist, who called on Russians via social media to protest in multiple cities across the country earlier on Thursday, told Reuters that she was detained on her way out of her home.
Riot police in Moscow were urging protesters to leave Pushkinskaya Square in Moscow, saying over loudspeakers that the mass organization was “unauthorized.” Russia’s Investigative Committee warned citizens in a statement not to take part in the “unauthorized” protests
“associated with the tense foreign political situation.” The committee also said that people should be aware of the “negative legal consequences of these actions,” including criminal liability. Rapper Oxxxymiron, one of Russia’s most popular rappers, called for an antiwar movement to be created in Russia that would unite people. He was one of many Russian public figures and celebrities who spoke out against the Russian attack, “I know that most people in Russia are against this war,” he said, urging people to be honest about their views on the invasion.
Protests against Russia’s unwarranted invasion have also started taking place in multiple cities across the globe.
Edited by- Subbuthai Padma
Published by- Radhika. N
