In the streets of Moscow, we see more and more green ribbons hanging from a pole or a grid. Since mid-March 2022, these little pieces of fabric have become in a few days one of the symbols of a discreet protest by force of circumstance.
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Since the beginning of the “special operation” in Ukraine, according to the official term of the Kremlin, a wave of repression unprecedented since the end of the USSR has descended on the country. It has thus become very complicated to go down to demonstrate in the street, under the risk of prison, of losing your job. Not to mention that social networks are officially blocked and monitored by the authorities.
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However, this green ribbon – green, like the mixture of yellow and blue, the colors of the Ukrainian flag – is part of these small discreet actions which are developing in the four corners of the country, and which are being emulated, as Lyubov explains. , a young feminist activist, who took part in the first demonstrations against the war: “When the war broke out, I reacted extremely emotionally and radically, without worrying about the consequences and my safety. And then I was arrested and imprisoned and my house was searched.“
Today, Lioubov, with his feminist association, organizes more discreet actions, such as dressing in black and laying flowers on war memorials. Some activists have nevertheless been arrested for this simple symbolic gesture. Other organizations, such as the Democratic Spring Movement, offer posters, anti-war flyers to print out that look like official letters from the city of Moscow to distribute in mailboxes. “Currently, people are very afraid to go to demonstrate in the street, but they still want to express their protest, assures Ivan, one of the leaders of the movement. And we see a great demand for anti-war posters, to go and stick anti-war stickers. And we are now focusing on those forms of protest that could be described as silent.“
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Initiatives which nevertheless remain isolated, but which allow us to continue to believe in a form of activism, explains Lioubov: “You walk around town and you think nothing has changed. And then you see a poster or a slogan. And you realize that you’re not alone in this madness, that you’re not the only one who wants to raise your fist in the air. Its very important.“
Some merchants also display small signs, such as a dove in a corner of their window. We also sometimes see in recent days, a white blue white striped flag, the Russian flag without the red stripe, the color of blood and war.