‘Staying silent isn’t an option’: meet Putin’s new opposition

Not every critic of Vladimir Putin ends up in jail. It still suits Russia’s President to present his country as a democracy. Elections are occasionally held against opponents whom Putin goes on to defeat, so enemies are often tolerated if they don’t pose a serious threat. Last week, 70 local councillors from across Russia used this remaining freedom to sign a petition calling for his resignation.

Their protest started with a letter from councillors in St Petersburg which called for Putin to be indicted on charges of treason and removed from office. A petition followed. I spoke to a few of the signatories and found them surprisingly willing to discuss their reasoning with me. They don’t expect to overpower Putin and they know they risk being jailed. But they offer an interesting picture of opposition to Putin’s war. ‘Yes we are being put under pressure,’ says Dmitry Baltrukov, a member of St Petersburg’s Smolninskoye council.