Nice War, Vladimir. Shame If This Is What Makes Russians Dropkick Your Ass For Good.

Dictators' power isn't absolute.

This war is still young, but there may be reason to hope Vladimir Putin has bitten off far more democracy-loving dick than he can safely chew. (If you ever need somebody to write a beautiful eulogy or graduation speech, we charge at least four figures but it's so worth it.)

Whatever the situation, that piece of shit has a fight on his hands. And from the images being blasted around the world right now, it seems like the Russian people may not be behind what their dictator is doing at all.

Look at the size of anti-war protestors in St Petersburg, Russia. Wowpic.twitter.com/dHg9Uwt9RQ

— Ragıp Soylu (@Ragıp Soylu) 1645725145 

 And then:  

People marching through central Moscow this evening chanting “No to War!”pic.twitter.com/BTQ3ZOGTan

— Matthew Luxmoore (@Matthew Luxmoore) 1645725300 

Reminder: Russians absolutely aren't allowed to do this.

But oh damn, they are protesting and making their voices heard, throwing all the fucks they had left to give into the wind. It sounds like a lot of Russians are well-aware that Ukraine didn't do anything to them, and they aren't on board with making war on the neighboring country that in many cases includes people who are their own families and friends. Maybe they don't believe Putin when he says all the Nazis of Ukraine are genociding everybody, because of how they have fucking eyes and Ukraine is, like, next door. They'd know .

The New York Times   reports that "thousands" have been in the streets, and quotes a woman who only identified herself as Anastasia, who was distraught that the square where she was protesting wasn't full enough of people yelling:

Overall, more than 1,300 people were detained across the country, OVD Info reported. Oxxxymiron , one of Russia’s most popular rappers, called for an antiwar movement to be created in Russia that would unite people.

He was one of many Russian public figures and celebrities who spoke out against the Russian attack. “I know that most people in Russia are against this war, and I am confident that the more people would talk about their real attitude to it, the faster we can stop this horror,” said Oxxxymiron, also known as Miron Fyodorov.

He referred to American protests against the war in Vietnam as an inspiration. “This is a crime and a catastrophe,” he said, adding that he will cancel his six sold out concerts in Moscow and St. Petersburg because of what happened.

“I cannot entertain you when Russian missiles are falling on Ukraine,” said Oxxxymiron in a statement , published in his Instagram account. “When residents of Kyiv are forced to hide in basements and in the metro, while people are dying.”

 According to Axios, that number of detained rose eventually over 1,700. People were detained in more than 50 cities . "The anti-war demonstrations are the largest organized protests against the Russian government since the Kremlin arrested Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny last year," says Axios. And they have a shitload of pictures, from Russia and around the world. (BTW, Navalny is making noise too, from the courtroom of the clown court where the authorities are trying to add another 15 years to his prison term.)

Here, have some more video of the protests, this time from Shepard Smith's new show:

 www.youtube.com 

Author Rebecca Solnit, who knows something about authoritarianism and also how movements for democracy can flourish, wrote with cautious optimism last night on Facebook that it "increasingly seems like Putin miscalculated on a grand scale" that everybody in Russia and Ukraine would just go along with his invasion. She expounded:

We are seeing dissent from prominent officials, ordinary citizens in protests, and reportedly also from some members of the military sent to conduct the invasion. While the rest of the world can and must oppose this war crime, the resistance of Ukrainians and Russians will matter most. I also fear what a Putin facing defeat could do.

And then she included some links, like this open letter from Russian scientists and science journalists condemning the invasion and calling it stupid and pointless. It's signed by a lot of people currently in Russia. Like seriously a fucking whole lot.

The Moscow Times reports that an "anti-war petition launched by Kommersant business daily reporter Elena Chernenko has collected at least 100 journalists' signatures." Russian celebrities are changing their Instagram pictures to black squares.

Over 150 Russian municipal officials have signed a letter condemning Putin's "unprecedented atrocity." It's a Google Doc in Russian, but the Moscow Times helped out:

“This is an unprecedented atrocity, for which there is no and cannot be any justification,” the local lawmakers wrote.

“We are convinced that the citizens of Russia did not give him such a mandate,” they added. “Hopes for a good life in Russia are crumbling before our eyes.”

Here's another somebody:

Yelena Kovalskaya, director of the Meyerhold Theater Center, announced her resignation from the state theater Thursday, saying: "It is impossible to work for a murderer and receive salary from him. I will finish the work I’ve started, but without pay."

Y'all, we don't think this happens in Russia like this very often. People resigning from the government in protest and saying they don't want the Kremlin's fuckin' blood money?

Activist Marina Litvinovich called on Russians to attend a “ walk ” against the war at 7 p.m. Moscow time, including on Pushkin Square in central Moscow.

Soon after, authorities detained Litvinovich outside her home, the independent broadcaster Dozhd reported .

Moscow prosecutors warned that unauthorized gatherings are illegal and will lead to “negative consequences.”

Of course they did, the losers.

So who's actually for this war? You know, besides Tucker Carlson,   Donald Trump and Putin, sitting in a three-man circle jerk in a room by themselves? That remains unclear.

Solnit ends her post saying that "there are often points at which civil society loses its fear of or its faith in the power or the invulnerability of rulers, and nothing can restore it." Is this that? We don't know. But it's something.

And if you think Russians are impressive, oh man wait until you see the Ukrainians fighting back for their country.

Somebody should write about that today at Wonkette, and if you're nice, MAYBE THEY WILL.

[ New York Times / Moscow Times ]

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