Moscow-based activists Polina Oleinikova and Arshak Makiychan woke on their wedding day, Feb. 24, to startling news — their president,Vladimir Putin, had begun awar in Ukraine.
“We were shocked,” Makiychantold Al Jazeeraearlier this month. “We were planning this wedding for a month, because you should send the application a month before your wedding.”
The couple, who met six months prior, nearly called off their nuptials, according toThe Economist,which interviewed the newlyweds in a recent feature. But there were other reasons — besides romance — for them to tie the knot.
Both the bride, 18, and groom, 27, had reportedly been arrested before in Russia, where according to law married couples can’t testify against one another and are allowed conjugal visits if one of them ends up jailed.
Makiychan toldThe Economistthat marriage was a “safety measure.”
So Oleinikova wore a blue dress that matched the Ukrainian flag for their ceremony. Though she’d picked it out before their wedding day, Makiychan gave her yellow flowers to complete the symbolism of her bridal look.
On the back ofhis white button-up shirt, he wrote, “F— the war.”
Russia hasmade it illegalto publicly oppose the country’s invasion of Ukraine under laws that prohibit “actions aimed at discrediting the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation” and carry a sentence of up to 15 years in prison.
But the seasoned advocates say they were undeterred and remain defiant.
Makiychan earned the nickname"Moscow’s Lone Climate Protestor"for his persistent efforts to draw Russians' attention to the global warming crisis.
Like her husband, Oleinikova has stood alone in Moscow’s Pushkin Square to stage a single-person protest — the only kind allowed in Russia without a hard-to-get permit, according toThe Economist.
Shortly after she and Makiychan first made contact over Instagram,now banned in Russia, she was reportedly detained for holding a sign asking authorities what was being done to address increased cases of rape in Moscow.
When Makiychan saw on social media that she’d been detained, he showed up with tea and cookies and met his future wife in person. Once she was released, the pair spent time at his apartment talking “about activist things,” they toldThe Economist.
Their first real date happened in December — but their rush to wed made sense to the couple.
“We decided to get married because it’s a kind of security for us,” Makiychan said, according to Al Jazeera.
Oleinikova and Makiychan told guests not to come to their wedding because they didn’t want it to be a celebration, which they thought would be inappropriate, they said in the interview withThe Economist. Their only witness was a photographer.
After the ceremony, they participated in an anti-war demonstration in Moscow.
Police officers detain a man holding a placard reading “No to war” during a protest against Russian military action in Ukraine, in Manezhnaya Square in central Moscow on March 13.AFP via Getty
Two days later,The Economistreports, they were picked up, taken to a police station, charged with organizing a mass rally and then released.
With a court date pending, the couple canceled a honeymoon in Armenia, Makiychan’s native country. “When the plane took off, we were at a rally screaming ‘No to war! Putin to prison!'” Oleinikova said.
“We do not want to give up and leave this country even though we had tickets to Armenia already,” Makiychan’s told Al Jazeera, suggesting they could have fled the country and left their legal troubles behind. “We decided to stay in Russia to fight this insanity because people need hope. If activists are leaving the country, then people will grow more frustrated.”
A judge ruled in their case that the couple were guilty as charged and order them each to pay a $150 fine. They toldThe Economistthey will appeal but have no plans to pay regardless of the outcome of their case.
“It was always dangerous to be an activist in Russia,” Makiychan said in aninterview with GB Newsthis month. “Now it’s like terrible,” he added, alleging authorities have been searching, arresting and torturing people in Moscow.
Russia’sattack on Ukrainecontinues one month after their forces launched their large-scale invasion on Feb. 24 — the first major land conflict in Europe in decades.
Russian invasion of Ukraine.Andrew Marienko/AP/Shutterstock
With NATO forces amassed in the region around Ukraine, various countries have also offered aid or military support to the resistance. Ukraine PresidentVolodymyr Zelenskyyhas called for peace talks — so far unsuccessful — while urging his country to fight back.
Putin insists Ukraine has historic ties to Russia and he is acting in the best security interests of his country. Zelenskyy vowed not to bend.
“Nobody is going to break us, we’re strong, we’re Ukrainians,“he told the European Unionin a speech in the early days of the fighting, adding, “Life will win over death. And light will win over darkness.”
source: people.com
