CyberDisobedience - by John Aravosis

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Putin's mass mobilization lies, and a brewing revolution in Iran

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Putin's mass mobilization lies, and a brewing revolution in Iran

Anti-government protests grow in Russia and Iran.

John Aravosis
Sep 22, 2022
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Putin's mass mobilization lies, and a brewing revolution in Iran

cyberdisobedience.substack.com

A lot of news coming out of Russia this morning, after President Vladimir Putin announced a partial mobilization (aka draft) yesterday to buttress the floundering Russian war effort in Ukraine. Putin claimed he was only drafting 300,000 men, and that he would only draft military reservists, i.e., men who had already served in the military. That was a lie.

CyberDisobedience - by John Aravosis is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Reports are coming in this morning that men who never served in the military have received draft notices already — including one man age 50 — and police have been registering anti-draft protesters (over 1,200 were arrested yesterday) for the draft, forcing military service on them as a punishment for protesting the state.

Twitter avatar for @DylanPrimakoff
Dylan Primakoff @DylanPrimakoff
In at least 3 Moscow police stations today, detained protestors were served summonses to appear at enlistment offices.
Twitter avatar for @mediazzzona
Медиазона @mediazzzona
Задержанным как минимум в трех московских ОВД вручили повестки в военкомат Фото: Кирилл Гончаров https://t.co/X8huh6rLBo https://t.co/rb5tVyYstB
12:15 AM ∙ Sep 22, 2022
619Likes323Retweets
Twitter avatar for @ASLuhn
Alec Luhn @ASLuhn
A quiet dinner in Moscow
6:23 PM ∙ Sep 21, 2022
26,368Likes9,114Retweets

Oh, but it gets worse. A secret codicil to Putin’s order reportedly sets the real number of draftees at one million, not 300,000 as Putin publicly claimed. That means even more social unrest as Russians around the country find out that they and their loved ones are heading to Ukraine to fight a losing battle with a better-equipped, and far more motivated, enemy.

Interestingly, Putin had avoided any kind of draft until now because he feared social unrest. And that’s exactly what this mini-draft got him. One suspects that yesterday’s protests will only make it more difficult for Putin to institute a true nationwide draft if the war in Ukraine continues to falter.

Meanwhile, Russians are fleeing the country, after news of the draft went public. One-way flights from Russia to neighboring countries that don’t require a visa were reportedly either sold out yesterday, or the price of the tickets skyrocketed to three and five -times normal. In addition, Google’s Russian search engine noticed a surge in searches for “how to leave Russia,” and “how to break your own arm.” Not kidding on that last one.

Twitter avatar for @DiMagnaySky
Diana Magnay @DiMagnaySky
Brave Muscovites 🇷🇺 💙
4:34 PM ∙ Sep 21, 2022
10,372Likes2,194Retweets

Meanwhile in Iran, we’re in the sixth day of growing nationwide protests following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who mysteriously died in the custody of that country’s “morality police” (yes, that’s a real thing) after being arrested for wearing inappropriate attire, i.e., not wearing a hijab — a scarf of sorts — in public. The protest videos from Iran are harrowing and uplifting. I was especially pleased to see so many men openly-supporting women. I have been surprised, however, at how little coverage the protests are getting in the west.

Twitter avatar for @Mesalazine_
مزالازین @Mesalazine_
Protesters are beating Islamic Republic's police guards in Iran, Amol city. This protest started after #Mahsa_Amini 's murder by Islamic Republic's hijab police. #مهسا_امینی
3:33 PM ∙ Sep 21, 2022
372Likes155Retweets

This video is particularly wild. Note the man slapping the woman in the face, during one of the anti-hijab protests. Then watch what happens to him next.

Twitter avatar for @wangmeri_leo
Meri @wangmeri_leo
This man slaps a woman's face during the Iranian people's protests against the hijab, and this is the reaction of the people on the scene: حقیقتا حال کردم پشت هم باشیم #مهساامینی #مهسا_امینی #Mahsa_Amini #mahsaamini #iran
10:53 AM ∙ Sep 21, 2022
933Likes297Retweets

And here are protesters intervening when the riot police try to arrest other protesters:

Twitter avatar for @Shayan86
Shayan Sardarizadeh @Shayan86
In Kerman city centre, protesters directly confront riot police and plainclothes officers, preventing them from beating and arresting fellow protesters, on the fifth day of unrest in Iran sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini in morality police custody.
1:59 AM ∙ Sep 21, 2022
4,499Likes1,208Retweets

Other things I’m keeping an eye on, via social media

Support for NATO is at an all-time high:

Twitter avatar for @starsandstripes
Stars and Stripes @starsandstripes
In a recent survey, 81% of Americans said the U.S. should maintain or increase its commitment to NATO. That is the highest level of support recorded since the Chicago Council began such polling in 1974.
stripes.comAmericans put Europe at top of global security concerns, support NATO commitmentRussia’s war in Ukraine has sharpened American focus on security issues in Europe, and that was reflected in survey findings released Sept. 15 by the Chicago Council think tank.
1:08 AM ∙ Sep 22, 2022
1,382Likes395Retweets

Christian Amanpour tells the Irani government to stuff it:

Twitter avatar for @KZiabari
Kourosh Ziabari @KZiabari
.@CNN's senior correspondent @amanpour has declined a previously arranged interview with #Iran's Ebrahim #Raisi because the president staff demanded at the last minute that Amanpour should wear a headscarf in New York. Amanpour has interviewed every Iran pres since 1995. #UNGA
Image
12:27 PM ∙ Sep 22, 2022
503Likes180Retweets

Anthony Bourdain on Putin, a few years back:

Twitter avatar for @WUTangKids
Wu-Tang Is For The Children @WUTangKids
Anthony Bourdain on Putin…💯🎯!
5:57 PM ∙ Sep 21, 2022
7,117Likes1,292Retweets

More protesters in St. Petersburg, Russia:

Twitter avatar for @michaeldweiss
Michael Weiss 🌻🇺🇸🇮🇪 @michaeldweiss
"Putin in the trenches." St. Pete's, VVP's hometown.
5:01 PM ∙ Sep 21, 2022
2,177Likes583Retweets

And here’s an excellent analysis of Putin’s speech.

Twitter avatar for @WarintheFuture
Mick Ryan, AM @WarintheFuture
The speech from Putin today is a careful balancing act of a leader under pressure, who is trying to: 1. please hardliners and Russian milbloggers; 2. not displease the general populace; 3. appease the military; 4. give the impression he is not losing a war. 1/20 🧵
12:48 PM ∙ Sep 21, 2022
9,142Likes1,955Retweets

As always, stop by my TikTok for regular video updates on the news.

Come watch my daily news show, Monday thru Friday, at 6pm ET, on TikTok, YouTube and a slew of other services.

You can listen to my news show as a podcast via Soundcloud.

I set up a store to sell Ukrainian-themed and other merchandise, much of it to benefit Ukraine.

And finally, I’ve now got a Discord community, where we discuss the latest news in a more intimate setting. You can check that out here.

Thanks as always folks, JOHN

CyberDisobedience - by John Aravosis is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

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Putin's mass mobilization lies, and a brewing revolution in Iran

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1 Comment
Michael Giltz
Sep 22, 2022Liked by John Aravosis

I was feeling bummed about the political news of far right hate groups seizing power or growing in strength in Italy and Sweden (and the US!) so while the unrest is hard on the protestors, this news from Russia and Iran is great in my book! Thx.

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