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Gallery|Russia-Ukraine war

A year into the Ukraine war, Russians quietly call for peace

Russians are finding subtle ways to express dissent over the Kremlin’s offensive in Ukraine despite the threat of jail.

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A woman walks near a residential building which houses the local branch of Russia's governing party, United Russia, with its emblem bear and a patriotic mural on the wall in the town of Chekhov, near Moscow [Yuri Kadobnov/AFP]
Published On 16 Feb 202316 Feb 2023
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Despite strict government censorship and the threat of jail, residents of Russia’s capital are finding subtle ways to express alarm and dissent about the Kremlin’s year-long offensive in Ukraine.

The messages are barely visible but omnipresent throughout Moscow – scrawled on signposts, graffitied on walls, or pasted as stickers on drain pipes.

“Write. Speak. Don’t be silent about the war!” is the plea of one Muscovite who carved the words into a wooden bench partially covered in snow in the centre of the capital.

“No to war” and “Resist” are other popular refrains for people opposed to the fighting, penned and scribbled around the city.

These are now dangerous words in Russia and are punishable with long prison sentences.

And they are hardly a match for the loud and ostentatious government-approved signs around Moscow backing the conflict.

The Kremlin calls its intervention in Ukraine – launched on February 24 – a “special military operation” and other characterisations deemed unsuitable by authorities could meet legal action.

After stamping out the political opposition, Russia’s authorities are now seeking to control the domestic narrative around its decision to send troops to Ukraine.

Even a sticker with the words “peace for the world”, such as one seen on the door to a Moscow metro station, could lead to problems with the law.

The smallest acts of resistance can have major consequences, like for artist Alexandra Skochilenko.

The 32-year-old was detained last April and faces up to 10 years in prison for replacing labels in a Saint Petersburg supermarket with messages protesting the Ukraine offensive.

The threat of repercussions like this has forced some quiet protesters to go abstract.

Take the green ribbons tied to tree branches, fences and street lamps. They are also cryptic messages of peace.

Green is a mixture of blue and yellow – the colours of the Ukrainian flag.

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Pedestrians walk past a wall with graffiti and the inscription reading "No to war" left on a wall in the town of Chekhov some 75 kilometres (47 miles) outside Moscow. [Yuri Kadobnov/AFP]
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A man walks his dog behind a wall bearing a graffito reading "No to war", left, in the town of Chekhov. [Yuri Kadobnov/AFP]
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The peace sign and the inscription reading "No to war" are written on a wall in Moscow. [Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP]
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People walk past a peace symbol painted on a building in Moscow. [Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP]
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A green ribbon tied to a traffic light post in Moscow. Green, a mixture of blue and yellow - the colours of the Ukrainian flag, has become a symbol of protest against Russian military action in Ukraine. [Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP]
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A sticker reading "Resist" on a wall in Moscow. Despite strict government censorship, Russians have found subtle ways to express dissent over the Kremlin's year-long offensive in Ukraine. [Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP]
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A sticker reading "No war" on a street art collage on a wall in downtown Moscow. [Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP]
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A sticker reading "peace to the world" on the doors of a metro station entrance in Moscow. [Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP]


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