Possibilities to #protest in #Russia were already significantly limited before the #pandemic, and during the last two years, from March 2020 to Russian attack to #Ukraine, street demonstrations have been banned with the pretext of the #Covid Pandemic. People were demonstrating persecutions against opposition leader Alexey #Navalnyi, and in few other cases, but these ended in massive arrests. But still, there was freedom of speech in social networks, some relatively free medias remained, authorities were making concessions with some local conflicts, such as defence of local green areas from forest clearance.
After the #war began, Russians were protesting with any available means – mass street protests, individual protest by putting messages to windows and balconies, on cards, to clothes (such as peace signs or other anti-war symbols, or symbols of Ukraine), individual pickets, performances, and petitions. Dozens of professions gathered tens of thousands of signatures from their own field with calls to stop the war. But the state implemented new repressive measures to crush protest: short #jail sentences, fines and felony cases were opened with the most ridiculous reasons. In March, the biggest oppositional #media was shut down, and censorship was imposed on the regional media. More than 200 outlets are not functioning as before. Remaining media is under threat of liquidation, so they either stop coverage of the war, or are just repeating propaganda cliches.

https://avtonom.org/en/news/moscow-anarchist-black-cross-updates-may-2022 #police #acab #repression #abc