Activism inside Russia during its War Against Ukraine

Session Submission Type: Panel

Brief Description

While Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 provoked an exodus of Russian civic activists, many remained in Russia to continue their struggles for social change, and others were mobilized into civic action by the war itself. This panel examines domestic environmental, feminist, and anti-war activism in contemporary Russia. The first paper, by Lisa McIntosh Sundstrom, Valerie Sperling, and Laura Henry discusses several case studies of feminist and environmental activist groups that have continued their work in Russia after the start of the full-scale invasion. The second, by Alexandra Novitskaya and Janet E. Johnson, explores the Russia-based women’s group, Put’ Domoi (The Way Home), which formed in 2023 to demand the “demobilization” of their husbands and used gender-compliant discourse to try to avoid repression by the regime. The third paper uses public opinion data from regional surveys on Russians’ pro-environmental practices (e.g., recycling) and engagement in environmental activism to show that concern about the environment persists, as does activism, despite the risks.

Sub Unit

• Politics/Law

Chair

• Elizabeth N Plantan, Stetson U

Papers

• Wartime Feminist and Environmental Activism in Russia - Laura A. Henry, Bowdoin College; Valerie Sperling, Clark U

• The Way Home, or the Way to Prison?: Gender Legacies and Anti-War Protest in Russia - Alexandra Novitskaya, U of Maryland, Baltimore County; Janet Elise Johnson, CUNY Brooklyn College

Discussant

• Carol Nechemias, Pennsylvania State U