Paul Goble
Staunton, Sept. 27 – The female face of Russian protests against Putin’s partial mobilization order has typically been explained by the fact that women are more sensitive to the threat to human life that wars represent, but there is another and perhaps more compelling factor at work.
Russian men are not coming to the protests because they fear that if they are detained at such meetings, they may be directly impressed into the army and sent to fight in Ukraine, a fate that Russian women don’t face, the People of Baikal portal reports (baikal-journal.ru/2022/09/25/sejchas-ubijczam-menshe-dayut-chem-mitinguyushhim-i-inoagentam/).
But women who do take part now face another threat: according to activists, Russian courts are now handing out heavier sentences to those who take part in protests or are identified as foreign agents than they are to those convicted of serious crimes like murder. As a result, the number of women behind bars is rising rapidly and will likely increase as protests do.
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