When Vladimir Putin announced the partial mobilization of reservists to bolster his war in Ukraine, thousands of people of fighting age fled the country. Protests broke out on the streets, and on the internet. For a brief moment, it appeared Russia might begin to see a unified anti-war movement.
But just like at the start of the invasion, physical resistance to mobilization soon began to fade. Russian resistance to the war today is mostly an online operation, and Telegram has become its central platform. With Facebook and Instagram banned under an “extremism” law, and Russian social media giant VK under almost direct control of the Kremlin, Telegram has offered a relatively safe harbor where one can find Russians expressing grief, anger and frustration about the war. But this comes right alongside political narratives and disinformation from across the…
