A Daring Regiment: the Freedom of Russia Legion
By Clare Struzziery · Cogito XIV ·In the city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, Russian and Ukrainian troops have been engaged in a six-month-long, brutal struggle for a foothold in the Donbas region. Among the flanks of the Ukrainian army fighting there are members of the Freedom of Russia Legion, an independent military group that was formally integrated into the Ukrainian military in August 2022. The Legion was created in the wake of Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine by a group of citizens who abandoned the Russian army for the Ukrainian side of the conflict. The exact number of fighters in the Legion remains secret for security purposes, but estimates hover around 4,000, a figure which is growing quickly, as two battalions are currently in combat and more are being organized. The group consists of Russian citizens who were living in Ukraine at the time of the invasion, Russian military defectors, and a small percentage of Belarusian volunteers. Many of the soldiers are self-proclaimed Russian patriots who had grown disillusioned after Putin’s invasion of Crimea, and then Ukraine, and seek to “destroy the Putin regime and establish a new free country in Russia.” These soldiers have bravely risked their lives by joining Ukraine and resisting the Russian government. The Freedom of Russia Legion has allowed just a small, courageous faction of a silenced Russian anti-war population to fight for their beliefs.
The Russian government’s crushing of dissent among its citizens has only intensified since it invaded Ukraine. The Kremlin has launched an impressive propaganda campaign including deepfake videos of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and government-controlled social media accounts disseminating misinformation about Ukraine. These Russian accounts and news outlets have consistently reported that Ukrainian forces hold a “dirty bomb,” a type of nuclear weapon, though these allegations have been proven false by the United States Department of Defense. This has all been done to push a narrative that defends the actions of the Russian military and villainizes the Ukrainian government. Despite all of this, a large number of Russian citizens oppose the war. According to conservative estimates that factor in fake pro-Russian government surveys, the number of citizens under the age of 25 who oppose the war is equivalent to the number of citizens of all ages who support it. Close to 15,000 anti-war demonstrators were detained between February 24, 2022 (the day of the invasion) and March 13, 2022. However, the consequences of speaking out against the Kremlin’s false narrative are grave. All independent media is blocked, and citizens face up to 15 years in prison for spreading information about the war that contradicts official propaganda. The Freedom of Russia Legion faces an even greater severity of backlash. The Russian prosecutor general’s office declared them a “terrorist organization,” and the soldiers must stay anonymous in any interaction with the press for fear of the Kremlin’s retaliation. However, after making massive sacrifices, these brave Russian soldiers have been able to achieve true progress against the government of their own nation.
Because of the Russian government’s aggressive propaganda and dissent suppression tactics, the Freedom of Russia Legion is a rare example of a successful Russian citizen opposition group. These soldiers fight outside of the country, which makes them distanced from, but not out of the reach of, the Kremlin’s authoritarian laws. Virtually no one in Russia can take a successful stand against the war, as protests are forcefully shut down and independent journalists are jailed. Members of this legion abandon their homes and families and defy the expectations of those around them to take a stand against Russia’s war. Participation in the Freedom of Russia Legion is the only way for these people to fight a government like Russia’s.
