‘A silent battle’ surfaces in Moscow
Flower tussle takes root at statue after killings in Dnipro
Police buses seem ubiquitous in Moscow since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, watching over much of the city center, including a statue of one of Ukraine’s most famous poets that has become a popular spot for a silent but emotional outpouring of anti-war sentiment.
Since a Russian missile struck a residential building in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro on Jan. 14, killing 46 and injuring 80 others, Muscovites have been coming to lay flowers — along with plush toys and photographs of the destroyed building — at the feet of the statue of Lesya Ukrainka, a Ukrainian poet and playwright who lived during the last decades of the Russian Empire.
The ritual, after one of the biggest death tolls from one strike since the war began, has become an expression of sorrow, shame and opposition to the war. But at regular intervals, authorities have been removing the flowers.
“In contemporary Russia, under these conditions, it is a battle — a silent battle,” said Tatyana Krupina, 28, a chemist who went with a small group of friends to lay flowers last week.
This is what passes for protest in Russia in January 2023, nearly a year after the invasion.
The flower tussle is one of the first public protests taking place on a large scale since the days after President Vladimir Putin’s announcement in September that hundreds of thousands of men would be called up to fight.
Russia has imposed harsh penalties for criticizing the war, or even calling it one, so for many Russians, laying flowers seems like a rare opportunity to show dissent without being arrested.
For anti-government Russians remaining in Russia, the flowers remind them that they are not alone in their opposition to the war, even as the propaganda becomes increasingly vitriolic, and the letters Z and V, which have become pro-war symbols, are etched on public buildings.
And for Russians who fled because of persecution, potential conscription or a refusal to pay taxes that will fuel the war machine, the flower memorial is a sign that there are still people left in the country who are brave enough to protest.
“This is not only a way to show people in Ukraine that there are people in Russia who do not condone what is happening; it shows people that they are not alone,” said Alexander Plyushchev, a Russian journalist with a following on YouTube.
But even laying flowers has potential consequences.
At least seven people have been detained, according to a New York Times journalist who witnessed the episodes over the past week. Four were detained after placing flowers at the site.
Police have tried to prevent people from photographing the memorial and have told others to delete the images from their phones.
But people keep arriving, looking for an opening when many are not gathered around the monument so that it does not seem like an illegal public gathering — and quietly placing their flowers.
“My endurance is finished; I want to show my opinion,” lawyer Ekaterina Varenik said Saturday after placing flowers on the statue. She was referring to not being able to express her opinion publicly.
Varenik, 26, said she last protested when opposition politician Alexei Navalny was arrested two years ago. She stayed home when thousands protested the war mobilization. But, she said of the crackdown, “Every day it gets worse and worse, and stricter and stricter.”
For more than a half-hour,
Varenik stood in front of the statue with a homemade poster that read, “Ukraine: not our enemies, but our brothers.”
She was detained by police shortly afterward.
The statue has been the site of altercations with pro-war nationalists, who have denounced the mourners and accused them in reports to authorities of discrediting the Russian military, which is a crime in Russia.
The Kremlin’s crackdown on political opposition and protests accelerated after the invasion of Ukraine. About 20,000 protesters have been detained since the war began, according to OVD Info, a human rights watchdog.
Many lost their jobs after protesting, signing petitions or writing social media posts critical of the war.
Ilya Yashin, a municipal councilor in Moscow, was sentenced to 8 ½ years in prison for speaking about Russian atrocities in Bucha, Ukraine. A 19-yearold university student from the city of Arkhangelsk is facing up to 10 years in jail for social media posts criticizing the war.
In that context, defying police to lay flowers may require a degree of bravery.
Still, some who risk arrest insist on showing their resistance.
“Moscow is a huge city, and everyone is quiet,” said Varenik, the lawyer, before she was detained for her antiwar poster. “I want to show the world that we should not be quiet. We allow all of this with our silence.”