The Way Home, or the Way to Prison?: Gender Legacies and Anti-War Protest in Russia

• In Event: Activism inside Russia during its War Against Ukraine

Abstract

This presentation analyzes the activist rhetoric of Put’ Domoi [The Way Home] – a Russia-based public protest movement comprised of the relatives of the men "mobilized" into fighting in Russia's war against Ukraine. Using an analytical framework that describes Russia’s gender-related ideologies under Putin, we examine how the activists of Put’ Domoi struggled to frame their demands in a way that would afford them some protection from repression while also allowing them to challenge the regime’s open-ended military “mobilization,” and how they became increasingly frustrated with the regime’s response to their demands and increasingly critical of the war in general. We find that this movement employed a gender compliant framework similar to that of many grassroots wives-and-mothers-women’s movements fighting authoritarian violence within and outside of Russia, but with particular Soviet roots. This analysis helps explain why Put’ Domoi did not immediately face repression despite engaging in regular public protests critical of Russia’s war-related policies. Our case study of Put’ Domoi also sheds light on how these kinds of women’s movements navigate the complicated repressive terrain of authoritarian rule through gender-related tactics.

Authors

• Alexandra Novitskaya, U of Maryland, Baltimore County

• Janet Elise Johnson, CUNY Brooklyn College