Russian women, Ukraine war, and (Neglected) writing on the wall: From the (Im)possibility of world traveling to failing feminist alliances

ABSTRACT

We argue that the Russian feminist and resistance groups, Pussy Riot, Feminist Antiwar Resistance, and Les Pleureuses, operate and should be acknowledged as agents of social change, and leaders of cultural opposition during the current Russia-Ukraine war. We establish Second World Feminism and Russian feminism as its cultural product in this essay. We argue how, in the years preceding the war, Pussy Riot repeatedly protested the totalitarian grip of the Russian state, its corruption, and the concretion of the Russian Orthodox Church and the state in creating conditions of female obedience and oppression. Further, we analyze the emergence and the ongoing activism of the anti-war resistance movement, FAR and its branch Les Pleureuses, in their fight against war, patriarchy, authoritarianism, and militarism. We illustrate how and why Russian feminists/resistance groups became agents of dissent, and can become torchbearers of peace. We examine the collectives’ potential contribution to and compatibility with transnational feminist alliances and make a case for including both Russian and Second World Feminisms as meaningful and impactful perspectives within the framework of transnational feminism.

KEYWORDS:

• Ukraine war
• second world feminism
• Russia
• feminist antiwar resistance
• Transnational alliances

Acknowledgments

An earlier version of this article was presented at the National Communication Association annual convention in November 2023, in the Feminist and Gender Studies Division, and received the Top Paper Award. We would like to thank the amazing editor, Dr. Mahuya Pal, for her impressive editorial expertise, and her visionary and enthusiastic support of this research project. We would also like to extend our gratitude to the anonymous reviewers, and the editorial team.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Notes

1 Translation from Russian by authors.

2 The Orange Revolution in Ukraine threatened Putin’s autocratic idea of neo-imperial revival, in which Ukraine was supposed to play a key role. As thousands of Ukrainians stormed to the streets to show disagreement with the results of presidential elections, the perception of Ukraine as Russia’s backyard suddenly paled, baring a new Ukraine - willing to defend its core values, aspiring to pluralistic democracy, and turning away from Russia.

3 The Rose Revolution in Georgia resulted in the ascension to power of a more democratic government led by a US-educated president Mikheil Saakashvili. As Georgia went on to transform its economy by creating free market and applied to join NATO, Putin’s regime tensed. The events in Georgia threatened to delimit Russia’s sphere of influence and complicate the plans for its neo-imperial expansion.