Branded ‘Foreign Agents,’ Wives and Mothers of Mobilized Russian Soldiers Face Uncertain Future ( www.themoscowtimes.com )
Since its founding last summer, groups like Put Domoi have been formed by mobilized Russian soldiers’ relatives to make a simple request to the authorities: to let their sons, brothers and husbands who have been on the front lines since being mobilized in the fall of 2022 come home. The movement has steadily grown, with nearly 60,000 followers on Telegram today
But as it has faced escalating pressure from law enforcement, Put Domoi has turned to other, less risky tactics — and become increasingly critical of the authorities and the war itself. In late May, Russia designated Put Domoi a “foreign agent”.
“It seems like loving your spouse and wanting him to be safe is a [marker of] ‘foreign influence’ now. I guess at this point, the only thing the government wants from us is to breed to produce more children,” said Maria Andreeva, one of the few public faces of the movement, who herself was also labeled a “foreign agent” on May 31.
