Silent Plea: Mothers and Wives of Mobilized Soldiers Plan Solemn Protest on Victory Day

The spouses and mothers of mobilized Russian soldiers are organizing a silent demonstration on Victory Day this Friday, advocating for the return of their loved ones from the conflict in Ukraine.

The grassroots organization Put’ Domoi (“Way Home”) emerged following President Vladimir Putin’s announcement of a “partial” mobilization of 300,000 reservists in September 2022, several months into the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Since the beginning of 2023, members of Put’ Domoi have conducted weekly silent protests, laying flowers at war memorials while wearing their distinctive white headscarves.

The group has issued a similar call for action for May 9, the day Russia will host a military parade in Red Square to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.

“In doing so, we want to remind everyone: we have not forgotten. We refuse to accept this situation. We await the return of our loved ones,” Put’ Domoi expressed in a statement. “We seek genuine peace — not just rhetoric, but true resolution. In honor of past conflicts. As a symbol of the current one.”

In May of last year, Russian authorities branded Put’ Domoi a “foreign agent.” Following a complaint from a pro-Kremlin blogger, Telegram has since added a label marking the group’s channel as “fake.”

Some members have reported experiencing intimidation from law enforcement, along with warnings against opposing the Kremlin’s stance on Ukraine.

It is also believed that authorities have encouraged loyalist groups of wives and mothers to counter what has become one of the most prominent grassroots challenges to the Kremlin’s wartime policies.