Putin Facing Awkward Questions From Russian Soldiers' Wives at Annual Q&A

Women angry at the conditions their husbands face fighting for Vladimir Putin in Ukraine are demanding the Russian president answer their questions at a televised Q&A session this month.

It comes amid growing dissent among the family members of troops drafted in Putin's partial mobilization announced in September 2022. The Russian leader's call-in show called Direct Line sees him get questions from around the country. While typically an annual event, it was cancelled in 2022 because of the war he started that February.

His spokesman Dmitry Peskov said last month that the event would be held on December 14. This would combine the Direct Line format with his end-of-year news conference with journalists, and both events would be carefully choreographed by the Kremlin. From December 1, Russian citizens have been able to send in their questions for Putin, which are vetted.

Among those fighting to get on air are the disgruntled wives of Russian troops, voicing discontent at their husbands not being rotated and other complaints such as the men not getting holidays. Newsweek has contacted the Kremlin by email on Monday for comment.

The Russian-language Telegram channel 7 by 7 Horizonal Russia, which is an opposition news outlet, shared screen grabs of text messages from members of a chat group of women in the Volga region city of Samara in southwestern Russia called "Way Home". They want to air their grievances to Putin directly.

"Vladimir Vladimirovich [Putin], please answer the most important question, how long is the period of service for mobilized troops? When will they return home?" read one.

"Yes, our men served in the army reserves... but why must THEY defend the country while other continue to live and enjoy their lives with their families? Our men have fully paid their debt to the Motherland, they must be replaced, demobilized and sent home to their families!" added another.

A third message read: "Bring the mobilized troops home!!! How much more can you torment our men??? Replace our men!!!"

A separate message noted that there was "No military situation in our country." It asked why ordinary factory workers have become troops who have to remain on the front until the end of what the Kremlin calls a "special military operation."

"Return my husband of father of our children home," read one text.

Another message said that mobilized troops have been in Ukraine for more than a year and had not been given any leave. "Our children are growing up without their father. The difficulties of the household are falling on the shoulders of wives and mothers," adding, "how much more must we suffer?"

Although criticizing the war in Russia can lead to criminal charges, discontent expressed by the family members of Russian soldiers calling for their demobilization is posing a growing problem for the Kremlin.

In a rare protest that was quickly broken up by police, the wives of deployed soldiers held banners in central Moscow on November 7 demanding their husbands be rotated. A similar protest was held in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk last month. Meanwhile, on November 27, an online group for soldiers' wives published a manifesto against indefinite mobilization.

British defense officials said on Saturday that the Kremlin was responding to the increasing criticism by giving the group a fake label and have instructed authorities to increase their payments to families to keep them quiet.

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