Ordinary Russians are destroying (or at least slowing down and making more expensive) the delivery of their own military equipment to Ukraine
They are everywhere. From all over Russia. Some are organized, some are not. Some reject violence, some do not care as much in the face of aggression in Ukraine. Some are soldiers or police officers, some are anarchists, some perhaps communists, some are hackers, some are hooligans, some belong to the Freedom of Russia Legion, and some simply found out how to do it. They stop the wagons. They stop wagons loaded with Russian military equipment heading for Ukraine. They derail them. Sometimes using wire, sometimes something more explosive, sometimes from a computer, and sometimes under the cover of darkness. The important thing is that they exist. And their numbers are growing. Partisans.
Much has been written about the Belarusian railway partisans. In recent days, several reports of organized sabotage on the Russian railways have appeared. (Notably, an article in THE INSIDER, a media outlet recently added to the list of foreign agents.)
The promotional image above—one of those created for the Freedom of Russia Legion by its skilled graphic designers, has been in circulation since March or April—but notice the three smaller “stickers” on the left. The first is the Legion’s logo. Below it is the emblem of the Resistance Movement (likely a group founded by the popular Russian blogger Dmitry Chernyshev) and finally the last one—the mark of the STOP THE WAGONS initiative (second slide). Legion fighters were apparently already communicating and cooperating back then with groups whose existence most Czechs are only gradually learning about now. In the third image, you will find a map of sabotage on the Russian railway as of June 1, 2022.
Stop the war! Stop the wagons.
STOP THE WAGONS —an initiative that strictly rejects violence—has a simple, very well-made website with instructions on how to easily stop a train with minimal expense. For an effective action, all you need is wire and gloves. And then, just not to get caught. It is clearly described on the page, including instructions on how to avoid capture—and a list of locations where your action will be useful. The initiative naturally also has a Telegram channel, where you can find the results of their work as well as more complex (though not much more) instructions, but it is evident that they care primarily about the cause, presenting the results of others for collective joy. They are not collecting voters. They are stopping the war.
Defeating a monster such as the Putin-led Kremlin requires immense courage. But that will be far from enough. Kremlin propaganda never fails to mention that the opposition is weak, disunited, beholden to the West, and ineffective. Partisans, journalists, politicians, and the Legion will need patience, a willingness to cooperate, and the ability to set aside their own merits for the sake of the whole—along with tons of the aforementioned courage. We can see above that it can work.
EDIT: The STOP THE WAGONS channel on Telegram reached 15,000 followers today; it is said to have many more supporters. On this occasion, they released an updated map of the railway resistance coverage in the Russian Federation.
