Many protesters criticizing President Vladimir Putin’s plan to mobilize 300,000 troops to fight in Ukraine have been detained by Russian police in large numbers.
On September 21, Putin issued a partial mobilization order, which means that 300,000 military reservists—but not conscripts—will be called up to support Russian forces who had just suffered reverses in Ukraine.
The action was taken a day after regions of the occupied Ukraine declared impending referendums on joining Russia.
However, the Russian human rights organization OVD-Info said on September 21 that more than 1,000 people had come to protest in several Russian cities, including St. Petersburg, Moscow, Irkutsk, Kaliningrad, and Yekaterinburg.
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Also, flights out of Russia sold out fast after Vladimir Putin’s announcement. Flights to popular destinations such as Istanbul in Turkey and Yerevan in Armenia were snapped up, and prices for remaining seats skyrocketed.
The price for flights from Moscow to Istanbul or Dubai reached as high as 9,200 euros ($9,119) for a one-way economy class fare following Mr Putin’s announcement, according to reports by the Associated Press.
The Moscow prosecutor’s office on Wednesday warned that calls on the internet to join unauthorised street protests, or participation in them, could incur up to 15 years in jail.
They could be prosecuted under laws against discrediting the armed forces, spreading “fake news” about Russia’s military operation in Ukraine, or encouraging minors to protest.
Despite the warning, the anti-war opposition group Vesna called for widespread protests, resulting in many arrests across Russia. Several video clips show police disrupting protests and arresting protesters.
Vesna called its action “no to mogilisation” – a wordplay, because “mogila” in Russian means grave.
The Kremlin’s mobilization action comes in response to significant setbacks in Ukraine, where Kyiv’s forces have retaken a sizable region to the east of Kharkiv.
