FACULTY OF CULTURE AND SOCIETY | Seminar
Silent Dissent: Exploring Russian Civic Activism as a Form of Opposition to the War in Ukraine

Welcome to RUCARR seminar!

Speaker

Irina Meyer-Olimpieva

Abstract

Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the apparent absence of mass antiwar protests inside Russia has often been interpreted as evidence of popular indifference or support for the war. Survey data seem to reinforce this conclusion, while street-level mobilization has remained limited even during moments of heightened political tension, such as the announcement of “partial” mobilization. This talk challenges such interpretations by shifting attention away from visible protest toward less conspicuous but socially meaningful forms of opposition that emerge under conditions of repression.

Drawing on a research project conducted since August 2022, I explore humanitarian volunteerism as a form of silent resistance. The analysis focuses on a case study of an informal volunteer network based in St. Petersburg that assists Ukrainian families who fled the war, found themselves on Russian territory, and are seeking asylum in Europe. Operating primarily through Telegram, volunteers meet refugees arriving in the city, arrange temporary accommodation, provide food, medicine, clothing, and financial assistance, and coordinate transportation to the border.

The first part of the talk reconstructs the emergence, everyday practices, and internal organization of this network, drawing on 32 semi-structured interviews with volunteers and coordinators. The analysis shows how informality, trust-based coordination, and transborder solidarity allow the network to survive in a hostile political environment while remaining effective.

The second part situates this case within broader transformations of Russian civil society after February 2022. The war and escalating repression accelerated the dismantling of the organized civic sector, while simultaneously fostering the growth of grassroots, informal, and non-institutionalized civic activism. Humanitarian initiatives aimed at assisting Ukrainian refugees exemplify this shift. Occupying a liminal space between civic engagement and political constraint, such initiatives redefine what participation can look like under authoritarian wartime conditions.

The final part turns to the political dimensions of humanitarian activism. While volunteering has long been understood as morally motivated and largely apolitical, a growing body of literature shows how humanitarian action can become politicized through practice. Through a comparison between the Russian case and volunteer initiatives during the 2015 European refugee crisis, I explore how humanitarian politicization unfolds under authoritarian and wartime conditions, producing forms of engagement that are implicit, restrained, and socially embedded rather than openly articulated.