Relatives of the men who were drafted during the mobilization form a “Council of Mothers and Wives”. They demand the return of their men from the front and the opening of negotiations with Ukraine.
After the controversial “partial mobilization” of hundreds of thousands of men, protests are stirring in Russia. A “Council of Mothers and Wives” protests their husbands and sons being sent to war.
According to a report by the Russian exile medium Bumaga, 20 women from various Russian cities took part in vigils in front of the headquarters of the western military district in St. Petersburg last week to present their demands there: the opening of negotiations with Ukraine, the renunciation of the use of Nuclear weapons, withdrawal of conscripts from the Belgorod region, from where most recruits are said to be sent to nearby Ukraine, and finally an investigation into cases of illegal sending of conscripts to the war zone.
Notably, according to Bumaga, neither the women who attended the vigil nor those who attempted to enter the Western Military District headquarters were arrested by police. So far, the Putin regime has cracked down on anyone who expresses criticism. When the mothers and wives protested in front of the building, the police came, but no arrests were made. Instead, the head of the Citizens’ Complaints Office from the military administration, Vyacheslav Melnik, came to talk to the women.
The group has nothing to do with the human rights organization “Union of Committees of Soldiers’ Mothers,” which was founded in 1989. The creation of the “Council of Mothers and Wives” goes back to Olga Tsukanova from the city of Samara. Her 20-year-old son was drafted in June. “We didn’t buy him out like a lot of people do. He wanted to do everything honestly,” she says.
According to Olga Tsukanova Bumaga, her son was sworn in on July 31. She herself attended the ceremony, where the heads of the unit assured the parents that their sons would not be sent to Ukraine. As early as August, however, his superiors began persuading him to “voluntarily” sign a contract to take part in the “special operation”. In September she learned that her son was going to be sent to Ukraine. Since then she has had no contact with him.
Zinaida Kurbatova, another mother who protested in St. Petersburg, already knows her son is dead. Alexey Kurbatov had no combat experience and was sent to the front without further training. He died eight days after the mobilization. Their protest appears to be directed less against the war than against the army’s “mistakes” in recruiting soldiers.
Apparently, the women are not afraid of the authorities. “There is no reason to be afraid, it’s too late to be afraid,” Olga Tsukanova is quoted in the article as saying. “Because the lives of our loved ones are now threatened. What is worse than losing a son or a husband?”
In Petersburg, the protesting women received assurances that the army would examine their information. There will be answers within a month or two.