Military Against War

The Russian military has created a secret anti-Putin organization called Orden Respubliki ("Order of the Republic"). The organization's existence became known via an interview with Lieutenant of the Russian Aerospace Forces Dmitry Mishov.

A combat helicopter pilot, Mishov escaped from Russia to avoid being sent to the front and applied for refugee status in Lithuania. According to Mishov, he turned to Orden Respubliki to smuggle himself across the border. Orden Respubliki is comprised of officers who have a negative attitude toward Putin and the war with Ukraine. 

"I wrote to them via Telegram. They listened to my story and said they would help," Mishov said. "They created a route for me so that I wouldn’t run into a border guards’ outpost."

Journalists from Mozhem Obyasnit  interviewed representatives of Orden Respubliki via Telegram. The interviewees said the association was formed about a year ago on the basis of a secret officer’s club that consisted of former and current military personnel. After the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the club members decided to "act to the best of their abilities." 

Representatives of Orden Respubliki said they are fighting against "an organized criminal group that has seized all the levers of power in Russia and is holding 140 million people hostage." They advocate for the transformation of Russia into a parliamentary republic and the immediate cessation of the war in Ukraine. According to those interviewed, Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Russian General Staff of the Armed Forces have violated the laws of war, and Russia should not have invaded Ukraine because "It is impossible to fight with relatives."

Representatives of Orden Respubliki said their main activity is "intelligence in exile." What they meant by this is unknown. At the same time, they said that Orden Respubliki is not connected with the Military Forces of Ukraine, the Legion Svoboda Rossy, or the Russky Dobrovolchesky Korpus. 

This is not the first time that members of the Russian military have come out in opposition to the war with Ukraine. In particular, paratrooper Pavel Filantyev, who participated at the beginning of the invasion, condemned the aggression against Ukraine, fled the country, and published a book about the war. As well, a retired Air Forces major organized individual pickets with pacifist appeals in Belgorod. And in Tambov a former military man and founder of a military-patriotic club publicly urged his former cadets not to participate in the war against Ukraine. For this, he was charged with discrediting the Russian army.