Those who supported the war are now hiding their children and husbands

When all of this started on September 25, I couldn’t take it anymore — I felt I had to be there. There aren’t many men in my immediate circle; nobody had received draft notices. But I find everything that’s been happening since February 24 repulsive — starting with the fact that my country is committing genocide against Ukrainians and Russia’s ethnic minorities, and ending with the fact that we’ve been isolated from the entire world and the younger generation has been robbed of a future. I’m not protesting against the mobilization — I’m protesting against the war.

The gathering was spontaneous. There were no leaders, nobody was coordinating anything. There was a massive brawl with the police. The men got outraged when women were being pushed around and beaten, and the women yelled at the officers: “You’re taking our sons — go to war yourselves!”

The protest was broken up, and then a crowd of people gathered outside the building of the Soviet-era district police station (district department of internal affairs — S.P.), demanding the detained be released. But nobody was let out right away.

Compared to Moscow, protests are not dispersed as harshly here. We tried to have a dialogue with the cops, reproached them for trying to push us back. One of my friends was grabbed by officers, and some guy punched one of them in the face. The cop let go of my friend, and she ran. She felt very ashamed afterward — she was worried that the guy had been detained.

Then Rosgvardia troops appeared with assault rifles at the ready, and after that no dialogue was possible. When I saw that rifle, I nearly lost my mind from fear. They didn’t fire — it was an intimidation tactic. They kicked both men and women — they didn’t discriminate.

People say they probably weren’t Dagestani Rosgvardia. Because our men wouldn’t dare do that to our own women. There’s talk of Chechens, but that’s unconfirmed.

I’d only been to a rally once before — when Navalny was jailed. There weren’t many people then, and after that, things stalled in Makhachkala when it came to protests.

This is the first protest since the start of the war. Before this, I’d only seen anti-war graffiti and inscriptions. Someone stuck Z’s on the windows of a government building. And people wrote “no to war” next to every window. I know my mother’s boss put a Z on his car, but after the mobilization was announced, he peeled it off.

Ours isn’t a particularly protest-prone region. And even though almost everyone around me was against the war from the start, people used to be uncomfortable and afraid to speak openly about their views. But now they’ve seen they have like-minded people.

Some say they’d rather go to prison than go fight. Many are participating in protests. And those who were for the war are now busy hiding their children and husbands.

In Moscow or St. Petersburg, people only felt now what it’s like when men are being taken en masse. That’s why the word “mobilization” scares everyone so much there. But here, it’s been going on for a long time — since February 24, a lot of people were taken.

People here were already furious, and when the mobilization was announced, it was the last straw. Dagestan already has the highest body count, and now they want to take everyone. Many of my acquaintances' relatives have already received draft notices.

Men in Dagestan have this stupid mentality: they think they’re showing cowardice if they refuse to fight. Many go not even for the money but because they don’t want to look like cowards.

On February 24, a classmate’s brother, a contract soldier, ended up at war. At one point, he came home on leave. He said it was absolute hell — looting everywhere. He categorically didn’t want to go back, planned to resign quickly, but they lured him back through some kind of blackmail. He returned after being wounded.

He’s in a very bad state now — obvious PTSD. He’s against the war, terrified that his younger brother will be sent. But he’s also afraid his sister, my classmate, will get involved in protests, and he won’t let her. Though he himself wouldn’t mind participating.

There was no official response from the authorities to the protesters' demands. More and more Rosgvardia and police are being brought into the city — yesterday, special forces vehicles even rolled in.

To be honest, I didn’t expect our people could protest so actively. After the first rally, when mostly women gathered and they started beating them, people became outraged — young boys being taken, women being beaten — what kind of government is this, what kind of police? The illusion that it won’t touch us is dissipating. People’s eyes are opening.

There’s a lot of talk about the protests now. Even my mom’s coworker, who I never in my life would have thought would go. Another rally is planned for September 30, and I really hope the protest doesn’t fizzle out.

Right now, it’s mostly adult women participating. The strongest motivation has kicked in: their children could be taken — and for women, that’s the most terrifying thing.