The silent protests taking place in Russia
Green ribbons, emojis, tulips and empty placards have become symbols of resistance
Russian journalist Marina Ovsyannikova has been praised for “telling the truth” by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky after her brave anti-war protest on live TV on Monday evening.
Ovsyannikova, an editor at the state-sponsored Channel One, ran onto the set of a Russian evening news programme shouting “stop the war, no to war”. She held a sign, clearly visible behind the presenter, which read: “no war, stop the war, don’t believe the propaganda, they are lying to you here”.
Her placard could be seen for a few seconds before the channel cut away from the live broadcast to a pre-recorded segment. Ovsyannikova was fined for the outburst and, on Tuesday evening, said she had been questioned for 14 hours and was not given access to legal support. French President Emmanuel Macron has since offered her protection should she need it.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
While Ovsyannikova’s courageous protest has made headlines around the world, other Russians have been risking their lives to protest quietly.
Emoji code
The BBC’s Reality Check team reported that Russians were using an emoji-based code to organise and share details about anti-war protests.
As Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine on 24 February, “an image started to spread on social media – a picture of the Russian poet Pushkin, the number seven and rows of the ‘person walking’ emoji”, said Reality Check’s Rachel Schraer last week.
“To those in the know, the meaning was clear – a location (Pushkin Square, in Moscow), a time and a call to protest against the government’s actions.”
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Since then, the “walking person” emoji has been used by Russians to signify when and where they are planning to protest, along with phrases such as “the weather is great for a walk”.
Unauthorised protests have been banned in Russia since 2014 with “repeat offenders” risking up to five years in prison. Schraer said BBC News had heard of people being detained based “solely” on their social media activity, including one woman who was arrested for tweeting: “I haven’t walked in the centre for a long time”, and quoting another tweet calling for people to rally.
Along with the “walking person” emoji, the “sunflower” emoji is being used by social media users to signify their support for Ukraine. Ukraine's national flower “has become a global symbol of resistance, unity and hope”, said the Washington Post.
Green ribbons
Various news sites have reported that Russians who are against the invasion of Ukraine have been leaving green ribbons in public places.
An unverified video posted to TikTok shows a man handing out green ribbons, as well as green ribbons tied to a handrail and a bridge. The video has received 2.6 million views and is set to the Rag’n’Bone Man song Human.
“They can’t silence green ribbons”, wrote one TikTok user. Another explained the significance of the green ribbons, reminding users that “yellow and blue make green” – a reference to Ukraine’s national colours.
Flowers
On International Women’s Day on 8 March, Russian women, led by the Feminist Anti-War Resistance group, left flowers at Soviet war memorials as part of a subtle protest against the war.
The flowers in question were “chrysanthemums and tulips bound with ribbons in blue and yellow – the colours of the now-ubiquitous Ukrainian flag”, said Aliide Naylor in Art Review, the London-based contemporary art magazine.
“We, the women of Russia, refuse to celebrate 8 March this year: don’t give us flowers, it’s better to take to the streets and lay them in memory of the dead civilians of Ukraine,” a statement from the collective read.
Graffiti
Protest art in the form of graffiti has also sprung up in Russian cities since the invasion of Ukraine almost three weeks ago.
Last month, The Sun reported that graffiti reading “Adolf Putin” had been “scrawled” in a metro station in St Petersburg – the Russian president’s home town. In the same city, someone carved “no to war” into a patch of ice, which authorities then attempted to paint over.
These brave street artists have seen their work “covered in bizarre and troubling ways”, said Naylor. “Even a piece of text reading ‘Ukraine is not an enemy’ might be simply graffitied over by Russian ‘patriots’ painting a letter ‘Z’ over their work.”
Empty placards
Earlier this week, Newsweek reported that anti-war protesters had been detained by police for “holding up blank posters”.
A video showing a woman being approached and escorted away by two police officers for protesting with a blank sign went viral over the weekend. “Police in Nizhny Novgorod arrested a demonstrator today for protesting with a blank sign. Welcome to Russia in 2022,” tweeted Kevin Rothrock, an editor of the independent Russian and English-language news site Meduza.
Rothrock also tweeted that a man had been arrested in the city of Ivanovo for demonstrating “with a sign that was comprised entirely of asterisks”.
Kate Samuelson is The Week's former newsletter editor. She was also a regular guest on award-winning podcast The Week Unwrapped. Kate's career as a journalist began on the MailOnline graduate training scheme, which involved stints as a reporter at the South West News Service's office in Cambridge and the Liverpool Echo. She moved from MailOnline to Time magazine's satellite office in London, where she covered current affairs and culture for both the print mag and website. Before joining The Week, Kate worked at ActionAid UK, where she led the planning and delivery of all content gathering trips, from Bangladesh to Brazil. She is passionate about women's rights and using her skills as a journalist to highlight underrepresented communities. Alongside her staff roles, Kate has written for various magazines and newspapers including Stylist, Metro.co.uk, The Guardian and the i news site. She is also the founder and editor of Cheapskate London, an award-winning weekly newsletter that curates the best free events with the aim of making the capital more accessible.
-
Trump’s huge ballroom to replace razed East WingSpeed Read The White House’s east wing is being torn down amid ballroom construction
-
Trump expands boat strikes to Pacific, killing 5 moreSpeed Read The US military destroyed two more alleged drug smuggling boats in international waters
-
Plastic whistles emerge as Chicago’s tool to fight ICEIN THE SPOTLIGHT As federal agents continue raiding the city, communities have turned to noisemakers to create a warning system
-
The UK-made Storm Shadow missiles Ukraine is using in RussiaThe Explainer Ukraine reportedly deployed the long-range British missiles this week, following a tense meeting between Zelenskyy and Trump
-
Proposed Trump-Putin talks in Budapest on holdSpeed Read Trump apparently has no concrete plans to meet with Putin for Ukraine peace talks
-
Sanae Takaichi: Japan’s Iron Lady set to be the country’s first woman prime ministerIn the Spotlight Takaichi is a member of Japan’s conservative, nationalist Liberal Democratic Party
-
Can Gaza momentum help end the war in Ukraine?Today's Big Question Zelenskyy’s request for long-range Tomahawk missiles hints at ‘warming relations’ between Ukraine and US
-
Remaking the military: Pete Hegseth’s war on diversity and ‘fat generals’Talking Point The US Secretary of War addressed military members on ‘warrior ethos’
-
US tipped to help Kyiv strike Russian energy sitesSpeed Read Trump has approved providing Ukraine with intelligence for missile strikes on Russian energy infrastructure
-
Russia is ‘helping China’ prepare for an invasion of TaiwanIn the Spotlight Russia is reportedly allowing China access to military training
-
Interpol arrests hundreds in Africa-wide sextortion crackdownIN THE SPOTLIGHT A series of stings disrupts major cybercrime operations as law enforcement estimates millions in losses from schemes designed to prey on lonely users