Ever since Putin invaded Ukraine last year, people have been asking why Russians are not outside protesting against the war.
Firstly, it’s worth pointing out that there has been plenty of opposition – more than 21,000 arrests and 370 prosecutions were recorded for anti-war statements in 2022 and this week independent Russian media outlets including Meduza and Mediazona ran a media marathon day to raise money for political prisoners.
But you won’t see large crowds of people demonstrating on the streets of Moscow or St Petersburg. For an observer not immersed in Russian reality, this could suggest that the population en masse supports the war. But for Russians themselves, the question of protest in the repressive totalitarian state in which they now find themselves seems irrelevant.
