In the meantime, in St. Petersburg

[hippywife]

Someone here the other day had the gall to say the Russian protests are "teeny". They are not and have not been since this began and many of these people are paying a price for it, such as Americans can't even begin to fathom.

Link to tweet

[jmbar2]

1. Courage! Putin's hometown.

[Torchlight]

2. This warms me.

The mood in Russia is one of the primary barometers we can use to gauge how far Putin can push this crap before he loses the will of the people. But it's also difficult to even guess at the sizes, locations, etc. of them. The three protest videos I've seen out of St Petersburg, Moscow and Volgograd is an indication that Putin is pushing too far too fast, and potentially losing the people for good.

Once that happens (if that happens), it's game over for him.

[gab13by13]

3. This is what Putin fears the most.

[The Jungle 1]

16. As he should.

He completely misjudged our world order!

[moondust]

4. Gonna need more Gulags.

[lastlib]

39. Siberia is a big place.......

I don't doubt Vladdy's capacity to fill it, or at least try before the people/army take him down. I hope they rope the dope soon!

[Botany]

5. what were they saying?

n/t

[Wednesdays]

7. I think they're saying, "nyet voyny"

Which translates to, "No to war!"

[nuxvomica]

6. Didn't the Duma pass a law that protesters become conscripts?

So these are all the soldiers heading to the front. That should work out well.

[SallyHemmings]

9. How do you say

"Hell no, We won't go" in Russian?


I salute these brave souls.

[XacerbatedDem]

28. Me, too. Bravo!!!

[Farmer-Rick]

27. Yeah, that is one stupid law

Send the people saying no to war to .....well the war. Think they might not make the best soldiers?

They already have a 12 month mandate to serve in the military for most Russians. I'm sure there's an exception for the Russian oligarchs and their family.

US judges use to give people the choice of joining the military or going to jail. These soldiers were terrible. They stole from other soldiers, they started fights with leadership, they lied and cheated others. They spent most of their time in the brig before they were discharged.

It is now against the law to offer military service in exchange for jail. But some judges still do it. If caught, the judge can be kicked off the bench.

Yes, some of the people who were offered military service instead of jail did work out well and were successful. But they were few and far between.

[relayerbob]

8. Looks to be a video from Feb 24 from the comments

[hippywife]

10. Does it matter?

They've been out in many Russian cities and, as far as I can tell, haven't stopped yet, even while being arrested in the thousands.

[relayerbob]

17. Yes, it does

I am totally behind the Russian people toppling Putin, but truth is truth.

[hippywife]

18. Please tell me...

where the fuck did I lie? I linked to where and when it was, I'm not covering things up. Watch your mouth and who you accuse.

[relayerbob]

23. In no way, did I accuse you of lying

That post is misinformation at best, and is not truth. It's labelled as March 3, it is not. Unless you are the source of that video, which you are not, then you are simply sending out obsolete information. I was merely pointing that out. There are numerous responses in that thread pointing out when it occurred. As far as watching my mouth, you are one one getting angry, foul-mouthed and out of control.

[relayerbob]

25. Because others think those events are current, and we need current, accurate information

What is your problem?

[XacerbatedDem]

29. To quote the estimable Rodney King, "Can't we all just get along?"

[niyad]

32. The tweet is labelled March 3. Nowhere does it claim that the protest is.

If you want accuracy. . .

[uponit7771]

26. Yes, Putrid has tamped down on protest since Feb 26th

[onecaliberal]

11. They have arrested over 6,000 people. Not small protests.

[Martin68]

12. Thanks for sharing! Impressive.

[BobTheSubgenius]

13. They have unbelievably vast tracts of land to the east...

...and feel no compunction about using it to house prisoners, as well all know. They'll ring plots of various sizes to create compounds. To keep the wolves out, obviously. They're not monsters.

[BobTheSubgenius]

14. Wait. What?

Not monsters???

[smb]

15. Bigger Crowd Than Cheato's Inauguration nt

[HUAJIAO]

19. I love St Petersburg. One of my 2 favorite cities, the other being Kyoto.

Only been there a few times but....it just has a vibe I really like.. and so much culture. The former Leningrad. It was still Leningrad when I was first there in the winter of 1985. I have good friends there as well...

[AngryOldDem]

20. "Going for a walk"

From what I understand, a lot of these protests aren’t organized (for good reason) beforehand. Rather, a code phrase among Russians is, “going for a walk.”

I like this a lot, and hope to see it catch on worldwide.

[c-rational]

22. Agreed. Good for them.

[58Sunliner]

21. These people are truly brave.

[Cha]

30. Rt TY!

[Rhiannon12866]

31. This major city suffered horrifically during the Siege of Leningrad during WWII

There are statues ad plaques all over commemorating their war dead, they have good reason to say "never again!"

[lastlib]

40. On CNN tonight, a guest was talking about how hard it would be for the Russians....

...to go into Kyiv, fighting building to building in urban warfare. All I could think about was the Battle of Stalingrad in WW2. If ANYBODY knew urban warfare, it was the Russian Army--they had perhaps the most brutal first-hand experience in it of any army in history. Not that that makes it any easier (Stalingrad was eighty years ago), but they know what they're up against. And Leningrad was possibly worse than Stalingrad (nearly 900 days, if I remember my history correctly). I have little doubt that the Russian Army can apply the lessons of WW2 to inflict maximum pain on Ukraine. It makes me ill to contemplate what is coming for those poor folks in Kyiv. I wish our country could do more to stop this tragedy, but I understand the limits of engaging nuclear powers. It is my fervent dream that NATO could establish no-combat zones around the nuclear power plants, but I realize it's only a dream, and it scares me sh*tless.

[Rhiannon12866]

41. Scares the hell out of me, too - this is one international nightmare

And I have been to what was then-Leningrad, went to the USSR in the late '80s with my grandmother who joined a peace group. Her town had a "sister town" in the Caucasus Mountains and this was the initial visit there. But we visited all over, meeting with Russia peace groups and seeing major sights and Leningrad was the last stop.

It's a beautiful port city, but we were well aware of the history. The Siege of Leningrad was the worst of the war, they were cut off - for 900 days as you say - and thousands suffered, starved ad died. There are statues and plaques all over commemorating the horrors of that war and those who were lost - they are all over Russia, actually.

So those we met had no wish to ever experience war again, "never again" seemed to be the prevailing mentality. Since our visit occurred shortly before Gorbachev's meeting with Reagan in Reykjavík, people were hopeful, but anxious, since Reagan was so tough that he caused the Russian hard liners to clamp down on Gorbachev's more progressive polices.

And I still remember one older lady who had served as a nurse during WWII who said "Please, when you go back, tell your president that we want peace." So I truly believe that the Russian people have no wish for another war.

[leighbythesea2]

33. On a Reddit

Thread, people described what can happen to them doing this. They can lose everything. Jobs, expelled from colleges, of course, jail.
So many said they were appalled, embarrassed and utterly bereft about what was going on. A college kid said he and his roommate were going to protest anyway.
So that's the sacrifice, in protesting.

[BlackSkimmer]

34. They're very brave.

Those certainly aren’t “teeny.”

Is teeny a word?

[IronLionZion]

35. Putin has been arresting tons of protestors

hoping these folks don't get discouraged

[UTUSN]

36. K&R

[UTUSN]

37. K&R

[UTUSN]

38. K&R