Mobilized soldiers’ wives report pressure exerted by law enforcers after memorial events

On January 20, wives of mobilized individuals in Moscow, Saint Petersburg, the Republic of Khakassia, and Primorye region, laid flowers in memory of soldiers who died in Ukraine. Subsequently, law enforcement accused the women of an unauthorized picket and demanded their ‘personal data verification.’ There were also attempts to hack the Telegram accounts of some of the participants, reported the Telegram channel ‘Put Domoy’ (‘The Way Home’) on January 22.

Each week, members of the 'Put Domoy' movement, advocating for the return of mobilized soldiers, wear white headscarves and lay flowers near the eternal flame in various regions. On January 20, such actions took place in Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Abakan, and Vladivostok.

Following the ceremony, several participants reported attempted hacks on their Telegram channels. In Moscow, law enforcement summoned the women for personal data verification and shadowed them with masked security forces in the metro.

In Saint Petersburg, individuals in plain clothes observed the women. They waited for the journalist to depart and then, together with uniformed policemen, accused the participants of violating COVID-19 prevention measures and staging an illegal picket. They insisted on inspecting the women's posters and conducting a personal data check in a police car. However, the pressure ceased after the activists refused to comply with these demands.

Since September 2023, wives of mobilized soldiers have been urging the authorities to conduct army rotation and abolish the 'legalized slavery' (i.e. mobilization). Women created a Telegram channel titled 'Put Domoy' and posted a manifesto demanding to replace their husbands and sons at the frontlines with other men.

In November, the movement participants planned to hold demonstrations across the country, however, these initiatives were suppressed by local authorities and security forces. The activists were also summoned by the police due to the photo flash mob titled 'Vерните мужа! Я Zа#балась' ('Bring my husband back! I am f#cking tired'), notable for its use of the war-associated Latin letters V and Z. The organization’s main channel was labeled as Fake, supposedly due to bot attacks.

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