Young Russian elites are advocating for peace in Ukraine on social media, highlighting the generational divide that threatens Putin’s power in Russia.
Russian elites publicly protesting the war include the children of oligarchs and government officials close to Putin.
Sofia Abramovich is a 26-year-old professional equestrian. In a post to her Instagram story, she said Putin is the one that wants war, not Russia. The post explained that the rhetoric of Russia wanting war was Kremlin propaganda.
Sofia’s father Roman Abramovich is the embattled owner of Chelsea FC. Despite accusations, he denies having links to the Kremlin.
Ksenia Sobchak, a socialite and former presidential candidate, has fled Russia and is now in Turkey with her son. Her parents are the former mayor of St. Petersburg and a Russian senator. She has kept advocating, and yesterday posted a picture to Instagram calling for a cease-fire. The caption reads that she is scared and calls on Putin and his government to end the war.
Elizaveta (Lisa) Peskova, the daughter of Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also posted to her Instagram account. For a brief hour, a story included the hashtag #notothewar.
Peskova is the vice president of the Foundation for the Development of Russian-French Historical Initiatives and appears to be close to her father.
Last week, her father stood up for the arrests of protesters saying that by law, rallies are not allowed.
Maria Yumasheva, the granddaughter of former Russian president Boris Yeltsin and daughter of current government advisor Valentin Yumashev, has also shown support for Ukraine. Yumasheva’s father helped Putin come to power by suggesting he would be a great candidate to Yelstin, the former president of Russia. Yumasheva’s latest Instagram post shows a photo of the Ukrainian flag captioned “no war,” and she tweeted the same, according to Yahoo.
The 19-year-old attended an anti-war rally in London earlier last week to show her solidarity with Ukrainians. Her fiancé Fedor Smolov, a striker for Dynamo Moscow and Russia, was was one of the first national team players to speak up against the invasion.
Andrey Rublev has also spoken out. The 24-year-old Russian tennis player wrote on the TV camera, “No war please,” after winning a match in Dubai.
These young elites are not alone, and many in the world share the sentiment. Rallies around the world have broken out against the Kremlin.
In Russia, around 1,700 people have been arrested since the invasion started, and last week someone even wrote “No to War” on the front door of the Russian parliament.
Never miss a story: Follow your favorite topics and authors to get a personalized email with the journalism that matters most to you.
