The author of the appeal, Dmitry Palyuga, posted it on Twitter, arguing that Putin was responsible for “(1) the decimation of young capable Russian men who would serve the workforce better than the military; (2) the economic recession and the brain Russia’s leak; (3) NATO’s eastward expansion, including the addition of Finland and Sweden to “double” its border with Russia; (4) the counter-effect of the “special military operation” in Ukraine. Palyuga and fellow lawmaker Nikita Yuferev later tweeted a summons issued to them by St. Petersburg police for “discrediting the ruling establishment.” Palyuga later reported that two of the four MPs summoned had been released by police and all were expected to face fines. The Kremlin has tried very hard to stifle any criticism of its invasion of Ukraine. After launching a full-scale invasion in late February, the Russian government moved quickly to shut down the remnants of Russia’s free press and introduced a new law that imposed severe criminal penalties for spreading “false” information. According to OVD-Info, an independent group that monitors detentions in Russia, 16,437 people have been arrested or detained for anti-war activism in Russia since the invasion began.
