Russians hold anti-war rallies in 48 cities despite ominous threats by Putin

Those guys are brave. With Putin starting o lose the war, I hope the protests will reach a critical mass where the authorities can no longer arrest them.

From Moscow to Siberia, Russian anti-war activists took to the streets again Sunday to protest Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,

Very very nice!

The people of Russia should show to that murderer Putin, that they are absolutely against this madness!

Stand up and destroy this insane government, which are willing to destroy your own country and the rest of the world.

Wow! Puty think he can just control everyone in the world. What a freakin loser he is. Inner Circle needs to step up fast!

“It is a crime both against Ukraine and Russia. I think it is killing both Ukraine and Russia.With Putin starting o lose the war, I hope the protests will reach a critical mass where the authorities can no longer arrest them.

I agree. Putin put his nuke forces on alert. Putin/trump cultists are you still supporting him, even if it means we are all turned to ash. And Putin has shut off Russian's access to Facebook. Putin and his oligarchs control media, which seems to be what the global pro-Putin/Trump anti-media herds want. Only the tyrant's perspective is allowed. And yet the Putin supporters will not say Russia is a fascist state , but that Canada and New Zealand are. And Putin/Trump supporters, Trump's on your side, still praising Putin.

Demonstrators held pickets and marched in city centers, chanting “No to war!” as President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian nuclear deterrent to be put on high alert, upping the ante in the Kremlin’s standoff with the West and stoking fears of a nuclear war.

This is what real protesting, with grave,real consequences looks like. Other protesters take note.

The older one get, the more delusional and paranoia one get. This is why we should never allow president stay in power for too long.

If there was ever a regime that cared nothing about protests, it's Putin's.

The brave, proud Russian people - so mistreated by their succession of despot leaders, who steal the national wealth for themselves and their cronies, while the average Russian's quality of life remains stagnant....

These leaders start wars when they think their grip on power may be waning - but Putin has clearly miscalculated here. The Russian people want no war with their Ukrainian neighbors and are braving beatings and arrests to show their disapproval...

More power to them - next to an outright defeat of the Russian Army, nothing enrages Putin more than seeing the masses demonstrating against him in the streets...

I have two sons and I don’t want to give them to that bloody monster. War is a tragedy for all of us,” 48-year-old Dmitry Maltsev, who joined the rally in St. Petersburg, told The Associated Press.

These are brave people standing up to a murderous despot. The Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine are also the victims of the savage putin. Many of them were tricked into going to Ukraine.

The only way to avoid more bloodshed is to overthrow putin!

Ordinary Russians fear that stiff sanctions will deliver a crippling blow to the country's economy. Since Thursday, Russians have been flocking to banks and ATMs to withdraw cash, creating long lines and reporting on social media about ATM machines running out of bills.

Let this be a lesson to China, the factory of the world.

If they even think of invading Taiwan the economic fallout will be catastrophic!

to the russian people- god's speed!

rainyday

Those guys are brave. With Putin starting o lose the war

I think it's a bit premature for that. It isn't going well for him, but he can send in more troops.

Hats of to these brave anti-war protesters.

It's worth remembering that millions of people marched against the illegal invasion of Iraq in 2003, including an estimated 2 million in London. Despite the overwhelming majority of people being against that war it still went ahead, resulting in the deaths of an estimated 900,000 Iraqis.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/2765041.stm

More and more Russian people are beginning to wake up and smell the stench from the Kremlin mafia that has long nauseated foreign observers while the gushing phony praise from the usual right-wing suspects abroad for the putrid face of Putin's regime has made many of us wince and gag all the more. Fact is, when enough Russians get "woke" (as can be expected among a people who value knowledge and learning, this word in Russian, , is very respectable and cannot be weaponized by gaslighting trolls), Putin and his fascist friends will be burnt blini. That day can't come soon enough.

I think it's a bit premature for that. It isn't going well for him, but he can send in more troops.

Yeah, but all Ukraine has to do to "win" is to keep its government intact and prevent the Russians from over-running the whole country. They are showing they are capable of doing that and also that they are likely to be able to continue doing that - the Russians still haven't taken any major cities and have been defeated every time they tried with heavy losses.

For Russia to win its a lot more difficult now, they have to actually capture Kyiv and pacify the country, which is an almost impossible task given the size of Ukraine and the level of resistance they are facing.

They've already sent in most of the troops they have in the region, and mobilizing forces elsewhere to send in will take months. There is really no path to military victory open to Putin now that his initial assault has failed. I don't think the Ukrainians are strong enough to actually drive the Russians completely out, but they don't have to do that in order to win.

Markets just opened, the Ruble has predictably crashed.

Everyone in Russia just got a 30% pay cut, in addition to the one they got last week.

That is probably going to make those protests grow.

If massive anti-war protests in London failed to alter Blair's war mongering, anti-war protesters in Moscow have no hope of changing the foolish course of their government.

If massive anti-war protests in London failed to alter Blair's war mongering, anti-war protesters in Moscow have no hope of changing the foolish course of their government.

There are some significant differences between the current protests in Russia and (so far much larger) protests against the Iraq war.

1) The Iraq war protests were focused on a single thing - the Iraq war. The war itself didn't really directly impact the daily lives of Americans or English people, it was a war happening "over there". In contrast, this war is already having a massive effect on the Russian people. Their currency is collapsing and they are being made poor by it, very quickly. Their country is being ostracized by the world in a way that makes the level of anti-US sentiment in 2003 pale in comparison.

2) The Russian army is simply doing way way worse than the US military did, which is likely to further grow the protests. The US won the invasion itself rather handily, and then spent years mired fighting a bloody and pointless insurgency which is what gradually turned the public against it. But in the early stages it had a fair deal of support among the US public. In the Ukraine right now, the war is playing out very differently. We're only a few days in and it looks like the Russians have already lost more troops killed than the Americans did in the entirety of the decade long Iraq war, and it looks like it will continue to sustain high losses.

3) You also have the awkward fact that the Russian army is fighting right next door to Russia and most of the people they are fighting can speak Russian. That has to be disorienting.

4) Its worth adding that while the protests against the Iraq war didn't stop the invasion itself, they did have long lasting effects. The war became deeply unpopular as it progressed and the protesters are now generally accepted to have been on the right side of history. There is a real taboo in US politics that crosses party lines on any US government launching an invasion like that ever again now, and partly that is thanks to the protests and popular discontent.

5) Of course there are things that go the other way - Russia has no free press and a large state propoganda machine that is shaping public opinion, and is a police state that can resort to fear tactics to suppress protest. At some point though, this might not be enough.

These people’s bravery is second only to the Ukrainians - respect !

The real power is not with Putin, but with his Uber rich oligarch ‘friends’ who let him stay in power.

He will be allowed to stay leader as long as it serves their needs & purposes. A change in leader could also result in a change of oligarchs.

orth remembering that millions of people marched 

Whatabout's in defense of fascism, those calling the UK/USA fascists are using the term as a pejorative, just name calling, not as its dictionary meaning, which we have seen the global far right do in their attempts to control language, too. And in doing so are showing their support for fascism. Has a modern British leader said Brits are a race. like Putin called Russians?

Extreme rightists and other Putin-philes, keep coming up with false analogies to defend their beliefs in Putin's brand of fascism.

And by saying that, I am NOT saying the UK?US are good. I am well aware of the US's history and oppose any attempts to further establish America's reach. I am frustrated in the US today that some politicians and their media side with and even praise Putin, who I have long thought is a monster. I had hoped cults of personalities, which were responsible for so many deaths and so much destruction throughout the 20th century, would be a thing of the past.

Just to put a dot on the "i" of the excellent points enumerated by rainyday, the British army fighting the Iraq military were highly-trained professionals unlike the apparent rag-tag, press-ganged cannon-fodder Putin sent into the Ukraine. I wuz there in London on the day of the million-man protest march against the Iraq war and years later I had the privilege of speaking with the premier protester, Brian Haw, still camped outside parliament in his Peace Tent, about that day of popular conscience and righteous indignation. He enthusiastically embraced my conviction that a million or so protesters could not possibly have produced the "tipping point" that would make ministers quake in their shoes and rob them of sleep and, for that to happen and prevent the government from waging war, a figure of 5 million out on the streets would have been necessary. Ultimately, the authority and viability of any government ends when enough citizens say "Basta!" to signal to the army, police and security forces it's time to turn and bite the hand that feeds them. The stability of British society could withstand the shock of a faraway conflict that hardly impacted the daily lives of its people. Russia is a different kettle of caviar because this fighting between these two peoples is more akin to the American Civil War and already we can observe the Kremlin's Fawlty Towers starting to wobble from international pressure and Russian people power below.

It's ridiculous to belittle these brave protestors by trying to lamely link their very dangerous actions to any other previous protest (just to virtue signal or to score your own dumb political points).

To compare protests in downtown, democratic London almost two decades ago (where absolutely nothing bad will happen to you, and protestors have ZERO real skin in the game, to be honest), with protesting inside an authoritarian, autocratic, viciously anti-citizen Russia, where protestors face beatings, banning, prison and even worse for simply standing on the street- it's a disgusting and inept comparison some people here clumsily insist on making at such a time as this.

Try to rise above your pathetic partisanship, and keep your tepid claims of "support" free of such ham-fisted politicization, if you can, yeah?

You can know a lot about a country by how they treat their own citizens... This is how Putin's regime treats Russians.

Lies, manipulation, and deceit... in an attempt to avert eyes and ears from the truth. That is all we need to know.

These protestors are heroes. I can't imagine the kind of bravery it would take to risk your life just to demonstrate against the invasion.

Wise of The West to continuously reach out to Russian people.

The protests will accelerate and grow larger when the bodies of dead Russian soldiers come home to be buried, when the Russian military begins to refuse to tell families where their loved ones are or their police start arresting the families of service members for asking too many questions about the whereabouts of their sons and daughters. When the body count starts to ramp up Mr. Putin's ability to remain in power could be threatened.

From what I have read Russian forces are now running short on fuel and ammo. Their war planners expected the fight be concluded by now and didn't make provisions for a prolonged fight. By all accounts the morale of the Russian forces is low. They don't really want to be there. Russia's small economy may not be able to sustain a prolonged war. In the defense press I have read that NATO had plans dating back months to establish supply support to Ukraine through neighboring NATO nations that have been implemented. The drones Ukraine purchased from Turkey are having an impact too, just as they did against Russian backed forces in Libya, taking out their air defense systems and some light armor too. Ukraine even makes these drones in country. Their air force has prevented the Russians from establishing air superiority too. I think it is telling that Mr. Putin wants negotiations this Monday. Mr. Putin miscalculated badly but how to get him to withdraw without Ukraine sacrificing its independence?

Desert Tortoise

From what I have read Russian forces are now running short on fuel and ammo. Their war planners expected the fight be concluded by now and didn't make provisions for a prolonged fight.

Where do you hear these things? Can you provide a link?

The war in Ukraine is Putin's war with free Ukrainians. These Ukrainians are fighting not only for their freedom, but also for the freedom of the Russian people. The freedom that Putin took away, after which he moved on to the physical destruction of the Russians. Officially, there are 145 million people in Russia. But according to the "grain index" - 80 million. In 20 years, Putin killed more Russians than Hitler and Stalin combined. The income of Russians is the same as that of the inhabitants of Upper Volta or Northern Nigeria. Only Russia is not Africa, it is really a very cold and harsh country where the poor do not survive, but die out.

Desert Tortoise

The drones Ukraine purchased from Turkey are having an impact too, just as they did against Russian backed forces in Libya,

What "Russian backed forces in Libya"? I never heard that Russia was involved there. Maybe you are confusing Libya with Armenia? Hint: These are completely different countries.

I agree. Putin put his nuke forces on alert. Putin/trump cultists are you still supporting him,

No, they’re not, they are just critical of this administration and how they’re handling this

even if it means we are all turned to ash.

Sorry, no one wants that, no one.

And Putin has shut off Russian's access to Facebook. Putin and his oligarchs control media, which seems to be what the global pro-Putin/Trump anti-media herds want.

No, They want and believe every single person has the right to dissent in every single person has the right to speak out and every single person has the right to have a debate in the social media outlet should never control one party over the other and we all have free speech or none of it

Only the tyrant's perspective is allowed. And yet the Putin supporters will not say Russia is a fascist state ,

literally every conservative around the planet has been saying that, as to why the left continues to even make that nonsense claim is astounding, but no one supports Putin and what he’s doing, maybe a few Russian loyalists, but other than that, Putin is really out of his mind now

but that Canada and New Zealand are. And Putin/Trump supporters, Trump's on your side, still praising Putin.

Utter nonsense.

.

The war in Ukraine is Putin's war with free Ukrainians. These Ukrainians are fighting not only for their freedom, but also for the freedom of the Russian people. The freedom that Putin took away, after which he moved on to the physical destruction of the Russians. Officially, there are 145 million people in Russia. But according to the "grain index" - 80 million. In 20 years, Putin killed more Russians than Hitler and Stalin combined. The income of Russians is the same as that of the inhabitants of Upper Volta or Northern Nigeria. Only Russia is not Africa, it is really a very cold and harsh country where the poor do not survive, but die out.

You are completely spot on.

Putin/trump cultists are you still supporting him,

no, just critical of the Biden administration response (lack of).

and critical of liberals immediately siding with Ukraine when it isnt necessary to even pick a "side" for most people.

no one is supporting Putin by criticizing Biden.

No more than you are supporting neo-Nazis by supporting Ukraine.

Heard a lot of nonsense about how smart Putin is, how he played the West, how Europeans haven’t seen any military action since WW2, how Russia would red wedding ‘slaughter’.

Now those same people are back pedalling because they see life as a sports game and their team is losing. Pathetic.

i have no idea who this Wendy person is much less any accountability for what you say she might have said.

if she said directly she supports Putin, then well, she doesn’t speak for me.

kurumazaka

here you go williB, Wagner

this took about 4 seconds to find.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-58009514

Congratulations on your find, but that is a speculation article from the BBC, rambling about Russian "mercenaries". Fact is, there was no Russian involvement in Libya. The destruction of Libya was conducted by the Clinton/Obama government. Try to take more than 4 seconds next time.

I believe you. Many senate republicans quite forceful as well. Get off in Freedom caucus land however and there are folks in the 45 camp who are pulling for Putin

Not one is

Isn’t Wendy Rodgers a big rising star over there?

No.

Scrolling through the comments here, I wonder how many people have any understanding of the topic they have strong opinions on. How many are aware of the Baker agreement, the Budapest agreement, the Minsk agreement, the Maidan coup, the violence in the Dombass, the repeated the continuous Nato expansion, the links between Ukrainian oligarchs and US politicians, "empire of lies" and other speeches?

Those who take their opinions from the shallow reporting in our "mainstream media" really might want to do some homework.

This is NOT evil Putin suddenly attacking a neighbour for for no reason at all.