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Feminist Anti-War Resistance

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Feminist Anti-War Resistance
Феминистское антивоенное сопротивление
AbbreviationFAR (English)
FAS (Russian)
LeaderCollective leadership [1]
Psychological services directorSasha Starost[2]
FounderDaria Serenko[3] and unnamed activists
FoundedFebruary 2022 (2022-02)
IdeologyFeminism
Anti-war movement
Liberal democracy
Political positionBig tent
Colours  Yellow
  Blue
Website
Telegram page

Feminist Anti-War Resistance (FAR or FAWR, Russian: Феминистское антивоенное сопротивление (ФАС), romanized: Feministskoye antivoyennoye soprotivleniye (FAS)) is a group of Russian feminists founded in February 2022 to protest against the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. In its first month, FAR became "one of Russia’s fastest-growing anti-war campaigns", attracting more than 26,000 followers on Telegram.[4]

On 23 December 2022, the Russia's Ministry of Justice added the movement to the so-called list of "foreign agent".[5] In April 2024, the movement was labeled as an "undesirable organization".[6]

Manifesto

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In a manifesto released on the group's Telegram channel, the group called on feminists around the world to come together to oppose the war launched by Vladimir Putin's government:

Today feminists are one of the few active political forces in Russia. For a long time, Russian authorities did not perceive us as a dangerous political movement, and therefore we were temporarily less affected by state repression than other political groups. Currently more than forty-five different feminist organizations are operating throughout the country, from Kaliningrad to Vladivostok, from Rostov-on-Don to Ulan-Ude and Murmansk. We call on Russian feminist groups and individual feminists to join the Feminist Anti-War Resistance and unite forces to actively oppose the war.[7]

An English translation of the manifesto was published in Jacobin,[7][8] and the manifesto has been translated into almost 30 languages, including Tatar, Chuvash, and Udmurt.[4]

Activities

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On 8 March 2022, International Women's Day, Feminist Anti-War Resistance organized the laying of flowers – chrysanthemums and tulips bound with blue and yellow ribbons – by women at war monuments:

We, the women of Russia, refuse to celebrate March 8 this year: don't give us flowers, it's better to take to the streets and lay them in memory of the dead civilians of Ukraine.[9]

The protests extended to embassies as well as monuments, and took place across 94 Russian and international cities,[10] including Saint Petersburg, Moscow, Vladivostok, Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk, Kanash, Yaroslavl, Syktyvkar, Smolensk, Luga, Lytkarino, Izhevsk, Volgograd, Irkutsk, Nizhny Novgorod, Ufa, Omsk, Mytishchi, Gelendzhik, Perm, Kazan, Zelenograd, Balashov, Saratov, Biysk, Khimki, Chelyabinsk, Krasnodar, Novovoronezh, Vologda, Korolev, Troitsk, Serpukhov, Vladimir, Revda, Tolyatti, Kaliningrad, Naberezhnye Chelny, Volgodonsk, Ramenskoye, Samara, Leninavan farm, Stavropol, Arkhangelsk, Yoshkar-Ola, Krasnogorsk, Novokuibyshevsk, Zheleznovodsk, Murom, Snegiri, Nakhabino, Rostov-on-Don, Cheboksary, Saransk, Dzerzhinsky, Veliky Novgorod, Tyumen, Tobolsk, Podolsk, Tula, Grebnevo village, Dolgoprudny, Murino, Vladikavkaz and Alagir.[11]

Activists have continued to innovate protest tactics: writing anti-war slogans on banknotes, installing art objects in parks, wearing all black in public as a sign of mourning, handing out flowers, or simply crying in the Moscow metro. As the activist Daria Serenko commented, tactics needed to continue to adapt to evade Russia's crimininalization of protest:

the situation changes every day. What was acceptable yesterday does not work today. A week ago, you could go out wearing black and hold a white rose in your hand. Now you will be detained for that. This is what happened to our activist Anna Loginova from Yekaterinburg. She received nine days of administrative arrest.[4]

International responses

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On 17 March 2022 151 feminists signed Feminist Resistance Against War: A Manifesto, framing themselves in solidarity with the FAR manifesto and Russian feminist anti-war activity. Signatories included Ailbhe Smyth, Alba Flores, Amaia Pérez Orozco, June Fernández, Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, Nancy Fraser, Özlem Demirel, Teresa Rodríguez, Tithi Bhattacharya, Yayo Herrero, Carmen Magallón, Pamela Palenciano, Goretti Horgan, Lidia Cirillo, Zillah R. Eisenstein, Judy Rebick, Ofelia García, El Jones, Shahrzad Mojab, Maristella Svampa, Debora Diniz, Heloísa Helena, Luciana Genro, Sonia Guajajara, Piedad Córdoba Ruiz, Miriam Miranda, Mónica Baltodano, Daria Serenko, Diane Lamoureux, Pamela Philipose, Silvia Federici and Talíria Petrone. The manifesto calls for "a bold redirection of the situation to break the militaristic spiral initiated by Russia and supported by NATO."[12] By the end of March the manifesto had collected over 2,500 signatures.[13] A member of the Feminist Anti-War Resistance later said that the similarly-named manifesto had led to some confusion about their own position, stating, "They advocate for the disarmament of Ukraine. We don’t agree with that and are for arming Ukraine, but [the group’s name] made people think they were writing on behalf of FAR."[14] On July 7, Commons, the left-wing journal of Ukrainian politics, released a counter-manifesto titled "The Right to Resist," saying the Feminist Resistance Against War's manifesto had denied Ukrainian women the right to resistance, "which constitutes a basic act of self-defense of the oppressed. We insist on the essential difference between violence as a means of oppression and as a legitimate means of self-defense." The many signatories of the Commons counter-manifesto include the Feminist Anti-War Resistance along with eight named members of the group.[15]

References

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  1. ^ María R. Sahuquillo (2023-03-10). "Activist Daria Serenko: 'Russia is a terrifying country for LGBTQ+ people'". EL PAÍS. Archived from the original on 2023-03-17. Retrieved 2023-03-17.
  2. ^ Anna Bobrova (2022-11-03). ""Мы родились в ситуации горящей жопы". Как устроено Феминистское антивоенное сопротивление". Теплица социальных технологий (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2023-03-18. Retrieved 2023-03-18.
  3. ^ Virginie Pironon (2023-04-09). "Guerre en Ukraine : la militante antiguerre russe Daria Serenko se bat contre le régime de Vladimir Poutine". Franceinfo (in French). Archived from the original on 2023-04-10. Retrieved 2023-04-11.
  4. ^ a b c "The Feminist Face of Russian Protests". The Moscow Times. 29 March 2022. Archived from the original on 3 April 2022. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
  5. ^ "Human rights activist, an Internet freedom organization, and the Feminist Anti-war Resistance movement added to Russia's list of 'foreign agents'". Meduza. Retrieved 2023-08-19.
  6. ^ "Минюст РФ внес "Феминистское антивоенное сопротивление" в реестр "нежелательных организаций"". Meduza (in Russian). April 27, 2024. Archived from the original on 2024-04-27. Retrieved 2024-04-27.
  7. ^ a b Feminist Anti-War Resistance (27 February 2022). "Russia's Feminists Are in the Streets Protesting Putin's War". Jacobin. Translated by Anastasia Kalk; Jan Surman. Archived from the original on 20 May 2022. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  8. ^ Ella Rossman (10 March 2022). "How Russian feminists are opposing the war on Ukraine". OpenDemocracy. Archived from the original on 13 March 2022. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  9. ^ Aliide Naylor (10 March 2022). "Amidst a Crackdown, Russia's Anti-War Artists and Activists Try To Reclaim the Streets". ArtReview. Archived from the original on 5 April 2022. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  10. ^ "Russian Feminists Stage Anti-War Protests in 100 Cities". The Moscow Times. 9 March 2022. Archived from the original on 9 March 2022. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  11. ^ "Феминистское Антивоенное Сопротивление" [Feminist Anti-War Resistance]. Telegram. Archived from the original on 9 March 2022. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  12. ^ "Feminist Resistance Against War: A Manifesto". Specter Journal. 17 March 2022. Archived from the original on 17 March 2022. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  13. ^ "Manifesto: Feminist Resistance Against War". 14 March 2022. Archived from the original on 10 July 2022. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  14. ^ "Russia's women are fighting back against the war in Ukraine". OpenDemocracy.net. 4 October 2022. Archived from the original on 7 January 2023. Retrieved 7 Jan 2023.
  15. ^ ""The right to resist." A feminist manifesto". Commons. 7 July 2022. Archived from the original on 7 January 2023. Retrieved 7 Jan 2023.
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