"Even children have become victims of denunciations:" As Ukraine Conflict Drags On, Russians Continue to Snitch on Each Other for Anti-War Views

Anthropologist Alexandra Arkhipova and her team identified over 5,500 cases where individuals faced prosecution for criticizing the Russian military, many of which were triggered by denunciations. She documented 359 instances of individuals being detained for expressing dissent in schools or churches.

These denunciations have been encouraged by the Russian government and law enforcement agencies, and it is not limited to war-related issues. The Kremlin’s Roskomnadzor last month launched an online submission form to report LGBT-related content and publications, which are illegal under Russia’s laws against “LGBT propaganda.”

The trend of denunciation has even made its way to schools, where children who have grown up under Putin’s rule may not fully grasp the consequences of their actions.

Penza schoolteacher Irina Gent was reported by one of her students after she said in class that Russia shelled a maternity hospital in Mariupol and wanted to overthrow Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. She was fired and handed a suspended sentence in court.

The practice of denunciations dates back to the Soviet era, when citizens were encouraged to report “enemies of the people” to the authorities.