Saturday marks the second anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In Russia, the loudest calls for an end to the war come from the mothers and wives of soldiers. Anastasija, a resident of Stupino, is one of these women. She regularly sends her husband anti-war messages and supplies to the front line.
Stupino has transformed into a site of anger and protest, with residents using holiday trips as a cover to deliver food aid to the front. Anastasia is one of the wives of Russian soldiers who vocally express their desire for an end to the war every Saturday.
Despite the passage of two years since the invasion, there is no end in sight. Anastasija is a vocal opponent of the war, but she represents a minority in Russia. The majority of Russians support the activities of their armed forces in Ukraine, as revealed by a survey conducted by the Russian research center Levada in January.
Interestingly, support for the armed forces is highest among those over 55 and those who watch television, and lowest among those under 24 and those who watch YouTube. These survey results, however, should be interpreted with caution due to the current atmosphere in Russia where citizens may not feel free to express their true opinions.
Anastasija’s husband has been at war in Ukraine since October 2022. He serves on the frontline in the Luhansk region, which is relatively peaceful except for occasional drones. Anastasija is satisfied with this, as she had told her husband that he could forget about her if he took up arms.
Anastasija has joined the Soldiers’ Wives and Mothers Tie Home movement, which holds weekly demonstrations calling for men to return home. Despite this, she feels that there are too few protesters and that the overall mood of protest in Russia is low.
She regularly travels from Stupino to the center of Moscow to lay flowers at the grave of the unknown soldier. She continues to do so even on the second anniversary of the war, despite not believing that expressing her feelings will make a difference.
Anastasija describes her husband as hardened by the war. She travels once a month to the Luhansk region to deliver supplies to her husband, such as socks, underwear, and food items. She says that she does not want to sponsor the war, and limits her spending to personal food purchases.
The two-year anniversary of the war evokes negative feelings in Anastasija. She feels a sense of responsibility for what is happening, but also feels helpless as nothing she has done has either prevented the war from starting or caused it to end. Despite this, she continues to protest, determined to make her voice heard.
