Introduction

Our special issue explores the roots, strategies, and frames that shaped women’s activism contesting Russia’s war in Ukraine. This introductory article places gendered anti-war activism in the context of the late Soviet and post-Soviet periods. This approach highlights critical changes that have occurred in Russian politics and society in the past two decades. On the one hand, we observe the rise of a new grassroots feminism and increased women’s activism, as well as the rise of horizontal protest organizations that effectively relied on new media as a tool of mobilization. On the other hand, we observe a profound change in the regimes’ repressive response to all types of wartime activism and growing societal quiescence in the face of state actions against soldiers’ wives and mothers. We conclude with a discussion of the articles included in the special issue, to highlight the debates and contributions that emerged across different approaches and empirical lenses.