The Anti-War Committee of Russia () is an organization founded by a group of

exile Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...

d Russian

public figure A public figure is a person who has achieved notoriety, prominence or fame within a society, whether through achievement, luck, action, or in some cases through no purposeful action of their own, In the context of defamation actions (libel and s ...

s for the purpose of opposing Vladimir Putin's regime and the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

. Through its Ark project, the committee helps coordinate resources for

emigrants Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...

leaving Russia as a result of the war.

Founding

The Anti-War Committee was established on February 27, 2022, by a group of exiled Russian public figures. Its goal was declared to be the fight against the rule of Vladimir Putin, which it says is responsible for the war in Ukraine, and which the committee describes as a "dictatorship." ''

The Moscow Times ''The Moscow Times'' is an independent English-language and Russian-language online newspaper. It was in print in Russia from 1992 until 2017 and was distributed free of charge at places frequented by English-speaking tourists and expatriates s ...

'' noted the significance of the committee's coordinated effort as a departure from the infighting more typical among opposition parties in Russia. Prominent committee members include CEO

Mikhail Khodorkovsky Mikhail Borisovich Khodorkovsky (russian: link=no, Михаил Борисович Ходорковский, ; born 26 June 1963), sometimes known by his initials MBK, is an exiled Russian businessman and opposition activist, now residing in L ...

Yukos OJSC "Yukos Oil Company" (russian: ОАО Нефтяна́я Компа́ния Ю́КОС, links=no, ) was an oil and gas company based in Moscow, Russia. Yukos was acquired from the Russian government by Russian oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovs ...

, former

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Mikhail Kasyanov Mikhail Mikhailovich Kasyanov ( rus, link=no, Михаи́л Миха́йлович Касья́нов, , mʲɪxɐˈil mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪtɕ kɐˈsʲjanəf; born 8 December 1957) is a Russian politician who served as Prime Minister of Russia fr ...

, former World Chess Champion

Garry Kasparov Garry Kimovich Kasparov (born 13 April 1963) is a Russian chess grandmaster, former World Chess Champion, writer, political activist and commentator. His peak rating of 2851, achieved in 1999, was the highest recorded until being surpassed by ...

, economists Sergei Aleksashenko and

Sergei Guriev Sergey Maratovich Guriyev (russian: Серге́й Мара́тович Гури́ев, os, Гуриаты Мараты фырт Сергей / Gwyriaty Maraty fyrt Sergej) is a Russian economist, who is Provost and a professor of economics at t ...

, historian

Vladimir Kara-Murza Vladimir Vladimirovich Kara-Murza (russian: Владимир Владимирович Кара-Мурза; born 7 September 1981) is a Russian political activist, journalist, author, and filmmaker. A protégé of Boris Nemtsov, he serves as vi ...

Russian Academy of Sciences The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; russian: Росси́йская акаде́мия нау́к (РАН) ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across t ...

member Yuri Pivovarov, politician

Dmitry Gudkov Dmitry Gennadyevich Gudkov (russian: Дмитрий Геннадьевич Гудков; born 19 January 1980) is a Russian politician and opposition leader. He was elected as a member of the State Duma in 2011–2016. His father, Gennady Gud ...

, entrepreneurs

Boris Zimin Boris Dmitrievich Zimin (russian: Борис Дмитриевич Зимин; born November 24, 1968) is a Russian businessman and public figure, philanthropist, motor sportsman. The son of Dmitry Zimin, (1933-2021), the founder of VimpelCom com ...

and

Evgeny Chichvarkin Evgeny Aleksandrovich Chichvarkin (russian: link=no, Евге́ний Алекса́ндрович Чичва́ркин; born on the 10th of September 1974 in Leningrad, RSFSR, Soviet Union) is a Russian entrepreneur who founded the largest R ...

, writer

Viktor Shenderovich Viktor Anatolyevich Shenderovich (russian: Ви́ктор Анато́льевич Шендеро́вич; born August 15, 1958) is a Russian satirist, writer, scriptwriter and radio host. Biography Shenderovich was born in Moscow into a family of ...

and journalist

Yevgeny Kiselyov Yevgeny Alexeyevich Kiselyov (russian: Евгений Алексеевич Киселёв, uk, Євген Олексійович Кисельов; born 15 June 1956) is a Russian television journalist. As the host of the NTV weekly news show ''I ...

. The organization uses the

white-blue-white flag The white-blue-white flag () is a symbol of opposition to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine that has been used by Russian anti-war protesters. It has also been used as a symbol of opposition to the current government of Vladimir Putin, b ...

and a

peace sign A number of peace symbols have been used many ways in various cultures and contexts. The dove and olive branch was used symbolically by early Christians and then eventually became a secular peace symbol, popularized by a ''Dove'' lithograph by ...

in the colors of the Ukrainian flag as symbols on its website.

Goals

The committee called on the governments of all countries to "take a firm stand against those who violate international law." In addition, it calls on "true Russian patriots" to "consolidate themselves in the fight against the aggressive dictatorship of Vladimir Putin - regardless of any political differences, ideological divergences and personal sympathies and antipathies."

Initiatives and activities

The committee has issued appeals to general audiences such as

Western countries The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to the various nations and states in the regions of Europe, North America, and Oceania.

as well as to specific groups such as the members of

United Russia United Russia ( rus, Единая Россия, Yedinaya Rossiya, (j)ɪˈdʲinəjə rɐˈsʲijə) is a Conservatism in Russia, Russian conservative List of political parties in Russia, political party. As the largest party in Russia, it hold ...

, the largest political party in Russia. On March 4, the committee published a direct appeal to Russians two days ahead of planned protests in Moscow. The group has also appealed directly to

Sergey Brin Sergey Mikhailovich Brin (russian: link=no, Сергей Михайлович Брин; born August 21, 1973) is an American business magnate, computer scientist, and internet entrepreneur, who co-founded Google with Larry Page. Brin was the ...

, a member of the

Alphabet Inc. Alphabet Inc. is an American multinational technology conglomerate holding company headquartered in Mountain View, California. It was created through a restructuring of Google on October 2, 2015, and became the parent company of Google and sev ...

Board of Directors. The Anti-War Committee operates the Ark project as a support resource for Russians who have chosen to

emigrate Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...

as a result of the war. Through this project, the committee is able to help Russian emigrants find housing and set up bank accounts among other forms of assistance. It is coordinated in part with volunteers located in

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Y ...

and

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

but is able to offer legal assistance in other locations as well. The committee says that monetary donations collected as part of its Sunrise initiative will help supply humanitarian aid in the form of food, medicine, clothing, and hygiene items for people living in Ukraine during the war.

References

General references

* {{2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine 2022 establishments in Russia Opposition to Vladimir Putin Organizations established in 2022 Peace organizations Reactions to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine