Why Russians are not protesting against the war
openDemocracyNov 03, 2022
After five months of legal proceedings, a Russian judge in a Moscow region court ruled on Monday that prominent anti-war and climate activist Arshak Makichyan's citizenship is invalid, along with that of his father and two brothers.
The decision to strip the Armenian-born Makichyan and his relatives of their Russian nationality and render them stateless comes after a court ruled last week that they gave false information when applying for citizenship. Makichyan's application was made as a 10-year-old in 2004.
Though millions of Russians are opposed to the Ukraine war, Makichyan's public protests were a rare sight — especially since Putin decided to invade Ukraine and criminalize dissent. This is another example of Russia's Soviet-style crackdown, aimed at instilling fear in those who oppose the regime.
The West may claim that Makichyan is a victim of a uniquely Russian form of suppression, but other countries revoke dual citizenship status for taking a pro-Russia stance in the Ukraine war. Moldova, for example, has threatened its Russian dual citizens with prison time or citizenship revocation if they choose to fight for Russia.
There is a 50% chance that at least 21.3K Russian citizens will be arrested for participating in anti-war protests before 2023, according to the Metaculus prediction community.