The russian authorities are likely attempting to quash public dissent by wives of deployed russian soldiers, including by attempting to pay them off and discrediting them online. This follows small scale protests in Moscow in November 2023, the UK Defense Intelligence reports.
Research by russia media outlets and comments by protesting wives themselves suggest that, in recent weeks, the authorities have likely offered increased cash payments to families in return for them refraining from protest.
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On November 27, 2023, one prominent online group for soldiers’ wives published a manifesto against indefinite mobilization. On around November 30, 2023, the group was pinned with a fake warning label – likely at the instigation of pro-Kremlin actors. The authorities are likely particularly sensitive to any protests related to those citizens mobilized in September 2022, who have now been at the front line for over a year.
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