Russia's Anti-War Lobby Goes Online
Several thousand Russians demonstrated against the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but the police reaction was the usual one when it comes to Kremlin critics: hundreds of arrests.
So the anti-war movement has moved online, where it is beginning to make itself heard and to garner support, some of it high-profile.
Ukrainian flags adorn profile pictures and teary-eyed emojis are scattered liberally among the online statements. The hashtag #NoToTheWar was trending on Twitter on Saturday.
Since early Thursday, when the invasion of Ukraine began, various Russian celebrities, journalists and bloggers have expressed their horror and helplessness, pleading for an immediate end to the war.
The popular video blogger and documentary filmmaker Yuri Dud saw one of his online posts get a million "likes."
"I write these words for a reason. When my children grow up and discover this moment in history... and ask me 'Dad, what did you do?', I want to have written proof that I did not choose this regime and did not support its imperialist rage," he wrote.
Elena Chernenko, a journalist with the Kommersant daily, said she was excluded from the pool of journalists covering Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov because she started an anti-war petition among her colleagues.
An open letter from the arts and cultural fields on Saturday had the support of more than 2,000 actors, directors and other creative figures.
They dismissed Putin's argument that the invasion is a "peacekeeping" operation to save Russian speakers in eastern Ukraine.
"Forcing peace through the use of force is absurd," the letter said.
Just as many doctors, nurses and paramedics have signed their own online missive.
"No matter how you seek to justify the use of lethal weapons, they are still lethal," they wrote.
And an anti-war petition on the change.org website has gathered more than 750,000 signatures in two days.
Among the celebrities making their voices heard, including regulars on loyal public television, is popular singer Valery Meladze.
"This must be stopped!" was his message on Instagram on the first day of the invasion.
The head of Russia's state-run RT television is in no doubt.
www.themoscowtimes.com