On Wednesday of last week, the pensioner activist Yelena Osipova, daughter to a Leningrad besieged by Nazi Germany, was dragged away by police as she joined antiwar protests. Hers was the most emblematic of over thirteen thousand arrests (according to OVD-Info’s tally) of Russians who have bravely denounced Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine.

The repression of the initial rallies following the February 24 invasion saw thousands handed prison sentences of a few days. But measures on Friday bringing Russia to the brink of martial law have set a far higher price for speaking out. A crackdown on liberal media like Dozhd and Novaya Gazeta, as well as foreign outlets, is now coupled with jail sentences of up to fifteen years for “fake news” critical of the war effort.

Despite the announcements, Sunday saw fresh demonstrations — with over four thousand arrests yesterday alone. Actions are also planned for International Women’s Day on March 8 — in 1917 famously the occasion of antiwar protests by the women of Petrograd. Ahead of this weekend’s rallies, I asked Russian socialists about the makeup of the protests, popular attitudes toward the war, and the prospects of dissent spreading despite the harsh repression.