Kirill Medvedev is a Moscow-based poet, translator, and activist.
In Russia, the wives of men mobilized to the Ukrainian front are increasingly demanding that they be returned home. While the movement is not mainly directed at opposing Vladimir Putin, it offers hope of breaking the war machine from within.
Russian anarchist Azat Miftakhov is spending his fifth year in jail for “hooliganism” — and now faces being framed on fake terrorism charges. His persecution is part of the Russian state’s campaign to intimidate the Left and silence opposition to the war.
Moscow-based socialist Mikhail Lobanov is a leading left-wing critic of Vladimir Putin. His jailing this Thursday reflects authorities’ determination to silence critics of the war, the disastrous effects of which are playing havoc on Russian society.
The war in Ukraine provided a pretext for tight government control over this weekend’s local elections in Russia. Yet with the situation clearly worsening, the vote has given rise to signs of popular dissent.
Faced with protests for opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s release, the Russian left is torn over whether to join a movement which raises no general social demands. Navalny’s personalized clash with Putin highlights the present hollowness of Russian democracy.