June 19, 2023

Military Against War


Military Against War
83rd Guards Air Assault Brigade's artillery exercise with D-30, 2S9, Kornet ATGM, 2B11.
Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation, Wikimedia Commons

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.

You Might Also Like

  • June 14, 2023

"Go Defend Your Homeland"

In Chechnya, law enforcement uses threats and blackmail to send LGBT persons, drug users, and "disloyal" citizens to war.
ROC: Pacifism is Heresy
  • June 15, 2023

ROC: Pacifism is Heresy

A Russian Orthodox priest called for peace. In response, the church said pacifism is "incompatible" with Orthodox teachings.
Shooting up Deeres
  • June 12, 2023

Shooting up Deeres

Russian military claims anti-tank successes, but pro-Kremlin analysts beg to differ.
War and Beef
  • June 07, 2023

War and Beef

Sculptures of soldiers and tanks made from ground meat are making waves.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar (bilingual)

The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar (bilingual)

The fables of Ivan Krylov are rich fonts of Russian cultural wisdom and experience – reading and understanding them is vital to grasping the Russian worldview. This new edition of 62 of Krylov’s tales presents them side-by-side in English and Russian. The wonderfully lyrical translations by Lydia Razran Stone are accompanied by original, whimsical color illustrations by Katya Korobkina.
Survival Russian

Survival Russian

Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words.
Moscow and Muscovites

Moscow and Muscovites

Vladimir Gilyarovsky's classic portrait of the Russian capital is one of Russians’ most beloved books. Yet it has never before been translated into English. Until now! It is a spectactular verbal pastiche: conversation, from gutter gibberish to the drawing room; oratory, from illiterates to aristocrats; prose, from boilerplate to Tolstoy; poetry, from earthy humor to Pushkin. 
Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar is a hilarious and insightful memoir by a diplomat who was “present at the creation” of US-Soviet relations. Charles Thayer headed off to Russia in 1933, calculating that if he could just learn Russian and be on the spot when the US and USSR established relations, he could make himself indispensable and start a career in the foreign service. Remarkably, he pulled it of.
Woe From Wit (bilingual)

Woe From Wit (bilingual)

One of the most famous works of Russian literature, the four-act comedy in verse Woe from Wit skewers staid, nineteenth century Russian society, and it positively teems with “winged phrases” that are essential colloquialisms for students of Russian and Russian culture.
A Taste of Chekhov

A Taste of Chekhov

This compact volume is an introduction to the works of Chekhov the master storyteller, via nine stories spanning the last twenty years of his life.
How Russia Got That Way

How Russia Got That Way

A fast-paced crash course in Russian history, from Norsemen to Navalny, that explores the ways the Kremlin uses history to achieve its ends.
The Moscow Eccentric

The Moscow Eccentric

Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955