Although Vladimir Putin has the backing of oligarchs and leading political and military figures during his offensive on Ukraine, a large part of the Russian population strongly opposes the military invasion. On the same day that the Kremlin announced the "special operation" in its neighbouring country, thousands of citizens took to the streets of Moscow and St. Petersburg to express their rejection of the attacks.
During the day of 24 February, a date that has already stuck in the minds of the Ukrainian people, 1,702 people were detained in 53 Russian cities according to the OVD-Info monitor, an independent Russian human rights organisation dedicated to political persecution in the country. On the 20th day of the war, the portal counts almost 15,000 people arrested.
However, neither these arrests nor the subsequent measures taken by the Russian regime have deterred Russian society critical of Putin. Demonstrations in Russia have not ceased since Ukraine began to suffer the first bombings and attacks.
The cry of no to war has even reached Siberian cities such as Irkutsk, where "such a large number of arrests" have rarely been seen, OVD-Info spokeswoman Maria Kuznetsova told Reuters. Protests have also been reported in places in the Far East, such as the town of Khabarovsk and the Pacific port city of Vladivostok.
In addition to protesters and prominent figures such as activists Marina Litvinovich and Lev Ponomarev and theatre director Evgueni Berkovich, Russian police have even detained children and elderly people, such as Elena Osipova, a survivor of the World War II siege of Leningrad. "The escalation of police violence illustrates the extent to which the Russian authorities go to intimidate and silence dissent," said Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch.
It is becoming increasingly difficult to demonstrate in Russia. As a result, citizens have devised new ways to show their dissent. Videos have circulated on social media of people carrying just a blank piece of paper or wearing the colours of the Ukrainian flag, but they have also been arrested. "Anyone who tries to go out or looks like a protester is violently detained," Bernard Smith reports from Moscow to Al Jazeera. "It's very difficult for people to go out on the streets and protest," he adds.
Meanwhile, a reporter for the AFP news agency reported that riot police even arrested a young woman shouting "peace to the world". He also reported that some members of the security forces were wearing the letter "Z" on their helmets. The "Z", painted on Russian tanks, has become a symbol of support for Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
As criticism of the war in Ukraine grows louder, the Kremlin has taken matters into its own hands and enacted new restrictions on freedom of expression. Anyone publishing or broadcasting what the Russian government considers "false information" about the invasion of Ukraine could face up to 15 years in prison.
This measure not only affects activists and people attending demonstrations, but also curtails freedom of the press in the country. Foreign media have been forced to leave Russia, while domestic media are banned from using the word "war" or "invasion". For this reason, media outlets such as The Echo of Moscow or TV Rain have ceased their activities for fear of reprisals from the Executive. Others, such as Novaya Gazeta, have accepted the imposed censorship in order to continue their work.
However, this gagging of the press has not helped journalists to speak out against the war. Journalist Marina Ovsyannikova of Russia's public television channel Channel One burst into a live broadcast with a sign reading "Stop the war. Don't believe the propaganda. They are lying to you here". The message was signed by "Russians against war".
Following this event, which has gone around the world, Ovsyannikova was arrested by the authorities on charges of "discrediting the Russian armed forces". She faces up to 15 years in prison. The reporter, aware of what was about to happen, recorded a video earlier that was released after the arrest.
In the recording, Ovsyannikova, wearing a necklace in the colours of the Russian and Ukrainian flags, expressed her regrets about working for the TV station. "I have been doing propaganda for the Kremlin and I am very ashamed of that," she said. "I allowed the Russian people to be zombified," she added.
The former Channel One editor also slammed Putin and his invasion. "What is happening in Ukraine is a crime and Russia is the aggressor. The responsibility for this aggression lies with one man: Vladimir Putin," she denounced. "The whole world has turned away from us and ten generations of our descendants will not wash away this fratricidal war," Ovsyannikova added.
However, Ovsyannikova was not the only media worker to deplore the Kremlin's military actions. Nearly 300 journalists, including reporters from state-owned companies, have signed a letter condemning the invasion of Ukraine. Predictably, the Russian regime has responded with dismissals, as in the case of veteran Elena Chernenko, former diplomatic correspondent at the Kommersant newspaper.