‘Let us rehearse freedom’: mapping the landscape of Russian civic anti-war movement in Exile. The case of Poland

Abstract

The dissertation is based on interviews with Russian anti-war activists, residing in Poland and extensive desk research, and aimed at enhancing comprehension of Russian diaspora involvement in anti-war activism in Poland. The thesis attempted to examine whether Russian activism in exile possesses the potential to serve as catalyst for positive change in the context of ongoing full-scale war in Ukraine and addressed the ways of cooperation between Russian civil society groups with other actors in the Polish and transnational context, and their perceptions of their role in laying the grounds for creating democracy for future Russia. Theoretically, the dissertation stems from social movements scholarship, civil resistance research, social psychology of contention and diaspora studies.