Putin's helmeted Cosmonaut Omon paramilitary thugs stamp out dissent in Russia as thousands detained


Russia’s feared Omon paramilitary thugs have been taking to the streets to stamp out any opposition to Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

Nearly 6,000 people have now been detained in antiwar protests across the country, with the helmeted cosmonauts in camouflaged riot gear regularly dragging away demonstrators.

Protests against the invasion started Thursday in Russia and have continued daily ever since, despite the Omon and police moving swiftly to crack down on the rallies. 

The Kremlin has sought to downplay the protests, insisting that a much broader share of Russians support the assault on Ukraine. 

But younger tech-savvy Russians with access to independent media have been voicing their opposition to the Kremlin’s invasion, risking jail and even treason charges. 

A protester is dragged away by Omon paramilitary members during a demonstration in Moscow yesterday

A protester is dragged away by Omon paramilitary members during a demonstration in Moscow yesterday

Nearly 6,000 people have now been detained in antiwar protests across the country since Thursday

Nearly 6,000 people have now been detained in antiwar protests across the country since Thursday

Russia's feared Omon paramilitary thugs have been taking to the streets to stamp out any opposition to the invasion

Russia’s feared Omon paramilitary thugs have been taking to the streets to stamp out any opposition to the invasion

Protests against the invasion started Thursday in Russia and have continued daily ever since

Protests against the invasion started Thursday in Russia and have continued daily ever since

In Saint Petersburg, where several hundred gathered in the city centre, police in full riot gear were grabbing one protester after another and dragging some into police vans, even though the demonstration was peaceful. 

Footage from Moscow showed police throwing several female protesters on the ground before dragging them away.

On Pushkin Square a planned protest was stymied by several hundred officers in camouflage uniforms and visored helmets, positioned in groups of three and spaced five yards apart across every public space.

Menacing men in civilian clothes but wearing black cloth facemasks stood at the entrances to shopping malls, shops and clubs, ready to repel protesters if they should try to flee.

Police officers detain a man during a protest against Russia's invasion of Ukraine in central Moscow yesterday

Police officers detain a man during a protest against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in central Moscow yesterday

The Kremlin has sought to downplay the protests, insisting that a much broader share of Russians support the assault on Ukraine

The Kremlin has sought to downplay the protests, insisting that a much broader share of Russians support the assault on Ukraine

Helmeted cosmonauts in camouflaged riot gear are a regular fixture now on the streets of Russia

Helmeted cosmonauts in camouflaged riot gear are a regular fixture now on the streets of Russia

Small groups of young people who had heeded calls on social media to protest stood around, nervously chatting and smoking. 

Whenever a group of six or more formed, police swooped, demanding to see papers and rifling handbags and rucksacks. 

According to the OVD-Info rights group that tracks political arrests, police detained at least 2,710 Russians in 51 cities for anti-war demonstrations Sunday, bringing the total of those detained over four days to nearly 6,000. 

Yasha, 21, a theatre student, says: ‘You get arrested once, they put you in jail for two days and you get a criminal record. 

‘Second time, it’s three months. And you get thrown out of college or your work. That’s properly terrifying.’

An already-repressive law on state treason – which carries a sentence of up to 15 years in jail – has been updated to include ‘any act beneficial or giving succour to the enemy’. 

According to the OVD-Info rights group that tracks political arrests, police detained at least 2,710 Russians in 51 cities for anti-war demonstrations Sunday

According to the OVD-Info rights group that tracks political arrests, police detained at least 2,710 Russians in 51 cities for anti-war demonstrations Sunday

The anti-war protests on Sunday appeared smaller and more scattered than the ones that took place on the first day of Russia's attack

The anti-war protests on Sunday appeared smaller and more scattered than the ones that took place on the first day of Russia’s attack

In Moscow and Saint Petersburg, many people went to makeshift memorials for Boris Nemtsov

In Moscow and Saint Petersburg, many people went to makeshift memorials for Boris Nemtsov

The amendment was clearly designed to criminalise anti-war protests with savage punishment.

The anti-war protests on Sunday appeared smaller and more scattered than the ones that took place on the first day of Russia’s attack in Ukraine, when thousands of people rallied in Moscow and St. Petersburg.

‘It is a crime both against Ukraine and Russia. I think it is killing both Ukraine and Russia. I am outraged, I haven’t slept for three nights, and I think we must now declare very loudly that we don’t want to be killed and don’t want Ukraine to be killed,’ said Olga Mikheeva, who protested in the Siberian city of Irkutsk.

In Moscow and Saint Petersburg, many people went to makeshift memorials for Boris Nemtsov, a top Russian opposition figure who was shot dead near the Kremlin on February 27, 2015. 

Some brought flowers to honor Nemtsov’s memory, while others also held banners protesting the invasion of Ukraine, only to be detained minutes after taking them out.

Access to Twitter and Facebook has been restricted, and human rights advocates feared similar steps would soon be taken against YouTube

Access to Twitter and Facebook has been restricted, and human rights advocates feared similar steps would soon be taken against YouTube

Russia's state communications and media watchdog Roskomnadzor on Sunday demanded that Google lift restrictions

Russia’s state communications and media watchdog Roskomnadzor on Sunday demanded that Google lift restrictions

Riot police detain a demonstrator during anti-war protest in Pushkin Square in central Moscow

Riot police detain a demonstrator during anti-war protest in Pushkin Square in central Moscow

Nemtsov, one of Russia’s most charismatic opposition figures, was a staunch advocate against the fighting in eastern Ukraine, where Russia-backed separatists have been battling with Ukrainian forces since 2014 in a drawn-out conflict that has killed more than 14,000.

Russian authorities in recent days have moved to stifle critical voices.

Speaker of Russia’s lower house of parliament Vyacheslav Volodin said the anti-war stance of ‘certain cultural figures’ was ‘inappropriate’ and ‘nothing short of a betrayal of your own people.’

Access to Twitter and Facebook has been restricted, and human rights advocates feared similar steps would soon be taken against YouTube.

Russia’s state communications and media watchdog Roskomnadzor on Sunday demanded that Google lift restrictions imposed on YouTube channels run by several Russian state media outlets. 

The Network Freedoms rights group noted that Facebook’s refusal to comply with a similar demand this week led to restricted access to the platform.

The website of the Current Time, a Russian TV channel launched by the U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty that has been critical of the Kremlin, became unavailable Sunday after the channel reported receiving a notification from Roskomnadzor about blocking it.

In addition to street protests, tens of thousands of people in recent days have endorsed open letters and signed petitions condemning the invasion.

The media has created a divide in Russia, with older and less-educated people more likely to rely on state TV

The media has created a divide in Russia, with older and less-educated people more likely to rely on state TV

The Russian government announced a Soviet-style ban on any references to 'war' or 'invasion' on any media

The Russian government announced a Soviet-style ban on any references to ‘war’ or ‘invasion’ on any media

Celebrities and famous TV personalities spoke out against it, too. One online petition, launched hours after Putin announced the attack, has gathered over 930,000 signatures in four days, becoming one of the most widely supported petitions in Russia in recent years.  

The Russian government also announced a Soviet-style ban on any references to ‘war’ or ‘invasion’ on any media – decreeing that the aggression against Ukraine is to be termed ‘a limited military operation’. 

At the same time the Kremlin’s media machine has gone into overdrive in an attempt to convince Russian viewers and listeners that the Kremlin is ‘liberating’ Ukraine from a ‘fascist’ American-backed puppet government.  

Dmitry Kiselev, one of the Kremlin’s most venomous TV propagandists, accused German chancellor Olaf Scholz of ‘solidarity with the genocide of today’ that Kiselev, parroting Putin, claimed was being perpetrated against Russian-speakers in Ukraine. 

The media has created a divide in Russia, with older and less-educated people more likely to rely on state TV, while younger generations use the internet for their news. 

Surveys show that the former makes up some 70 per cent of the population. 

It’ll all be over quickly, just as soon as we get those fascists out of Kiev,’ said Marina Gordeyeva, 38, the producer of a TV shopping channel. 

‘The Ukrainian people will thank us.’

Many other Russians remain convinced that the conflict was provoked by the West. 

‘Nato pushed us into this war,’ said Vladimir Butyrkin, 61, a retired trucker.

‘We are a peaceful people. Nobody in Russia wanted this. The Ukrainians are our brothers – but sometimes you need to correct your brothers when they get stupid ideas in their heads.’  

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