In Russia, some women demand the return of their men from the Ukraine front.

Maria Andreeva, whose husband has been fighting in Ukraine for more than a year, is also fighting a struggle in Moscow: she is trying to bring him back home without his being killed.

No one else is with her. A growing number of Russian women are requesting that President Vladimir Putin’s order to mobilize their husbands, sons, and brothers in September of the previous year bring them home from the front lines.

The movement first pledged its allegiance to what the Kremlin refers to as its “special military operation” (SVO), but what they see to be the little reaction they have gotten is making some of their ideas more rigid.

Two brief visits to see his wife and little daughter have been the only times Andreeva’s husband has been to the country since he was called up for military service and sent to Ukraine a year ago. According to his wife, this is not enough for a soldier fighting beside him in combat.

“We want our men to be demobilized so that they can return home because we think that for over a year they have done everything they could have—or even more,” Andreeva, who is 34 years old, said in an interview with Reuters in Moscow.

“For me, it is not only a struggle to ensure that my daughter has a father, but it is also a struggle for my marriage.”

Regarding dealing with the movement, the Kremlin is in a fragile position.

In previous conflicts, Moscow has permitted more outstanding death tolls than would be politically acceptable in Western nations. In February 2022, Moscow dispatched tens of thousands of troops to Ukraine. Additionally, Moscow has tolerated higher death tolls in prior wars.

The increasing movement of Russian women, on the other hand, highlights the inherent inequity and difficulty of maintaining so many men at war for such a long period while still allowing many more men of fighting age to remain at home.

When the Soviet Union was falling apart, groups of mothers of Russian troops campaigned for improved living circumstances for their sons who were serving in the military. This effort continued after their boys returned from fighting in the Chechen area of Russia.

According to the authorities, Russian society is unified behind the war effort; nonetheless, it is too soon to evaluate the magnitude of the movement of Russian women or the influence it will have. Additionally, women in Ukraine have demanded that their husbands be allowed to return from the front lines.

When Andreeva was asked about the risks associated with speaking out in Russia during the conflict, she responded, “I want you to understand: it is no longer scary because it is just not possible to put up with all of this any longer.” It is just an excessive amount.”

The news agency Reuters did not seek out or get any information from Andreeva that may be considered military or potentially sensitive. She requested her spouse’s identity.

Is it loyal?
In September 2022, when Putin issued an order for a partial mobilization of 300,000 reservists, hundreds of thousands of young men fled Russia. Millions of people did not evacuate, and some served in the military.

Since then, Russia has used the promise of high salaries to entice hundreds of thousands of contract soldiers to join its various military units in the regions. The fact that Russia has already recruited 452,000 contract troops this year demonstrates Russia’s numerical edge over Ukraine, as stated by Dmitry Medvedev, the former president of Russia who is currently the deputy head of Russia’s Security Council.

According to Andreeva, the ladies have had very little engagement from the Russian defense ministry, and the petitions that were sent to get their men have received absolutely no reaction.

An inquiry from Reuters for a comment was not met with a response from the ministry.

According to Andreeva, the absence of a reaction has caused some women to alter their perspectives on the dispute and cease acting like “good girls” in response to their requests.

“Our position at the start was: Yes, we understand why it is needed; we support it; we occupy a rather loyal position,” according to her. “But now the position, including mine, is changing because we see how we are being treated and how our husbands are being treated.”

We could not obtain permission from the authorities to proceed with the demonstrations that the ladies had planned. Andreeva stated that the ladies have been accused of having been supported by opposition groups and dissidents headquartered in the West, which are accusations that have no basis in reality.

Twenty-three thousand people are members of their “Way Home” Telegram channel.

Are you saying, “GOOD GIRLS”?

Last month, two ladies bombarded politician Vitaly Milonov with direct questions regarding the return of their men. The bluntness of their questions pierced his attempts to brush away their inquiries with words about his patriotism.

“We are all Russian here,” one person said in an online video clip. “When will the mobilised be changed over?”

“There will, of course, be a changeover,” the speaker said. We shall emerge triumphant for all of us.” As Milonov put it,

“Oh, we have heard all of that before,” the woman remarked through interjection.

One of the most significant complaints that Andreeva, along with other spouses, mothers, and sisters, has is that the weight of war is not distributed fairly. At the same time that expensive restaurants in Moscow will be serving good wine and truffles over the New Year holiday season, some guys are in trenches at the front, fighting for their lives.

“We have 1 percent of the population taking on the whole burden of the SVO at the front while the other 99% are preparing for New Year and having some fun.” According to Andreeva,

“Having fun is not what is in store for our boys or our families.”