Anti-Mobilization Protests in Russia Lead to Mass Detention and Conscription
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ‘partial mobilization’ order on Wednesday, September 20th sparked widespread protests and led to the detention of 1300 protesters across the country. OVD-Info, a prominent Russian human rights monitoring group reported that detentions occurred in more than 38 cities. The independent group also reported that several protesters were served draft notices shortly after being detained. In St. Petersburg, protestors were loaded onto buses and transported to military enlistment facilities.
The historic decree marks the first time Russia has called for a draft since World War 2. In recent months, Russia has suffered heavy losses on the battlefield as Ukrainian forces escalate efforts to fight back against Russian troops. While official numbers put forth by the Russian defense ministry claimed that a total of 5,937 Russian servicemen have lost their lives in the war, the Pentagon estimates the number could be as high as 80,000. Putin’s decision to draft 300,000 troops came shortly after Ukrainian forces reclaimed and liberated the critical cities of Izyum and Kupiyansk in the Kharkiv region.
The rallies that started on Wednesday mark the first instance of nationwide anti-war protests in Russia since the start of the invasion in February. Under newly enacted anti-protest laws, unsanctioned rallies and criticizing the military are illegal. Moscow’s prosecutor’s office issued warnings against organizing and participating in protests. Further, Russian Interior Minister Irina Volk stood by the action of the police, stating “there were attempts to stage unauthorized actions which brought together an extremely small number of participants. These were all stopped. And those persons who violated laws were detained and taken to police stations for investigation”.
This violation of human rights has not gone unnoticed by nations and international organizations. On September 22nd, Neil Bush, the Head of the United Kingdom's Delegation to the Organization for Security and Co-operation (OSCE) in Europe, delivered a statement on behalf of the UK government regarding Russian violence against peaceful anti-war protesters.
The protests signal a notable shift in public sentiment toward the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with growing levels of dissatisfaction, anger, and outrage across the country. According to OVD-Info, more than 16,000 protesters have been detained since the start of the Russian invasion.