But the growing movement of Russian women underscores the complexity and innate inequality of keeping so many men at war for so long while many more of fighting age remain at home. It is too soon to assess the size or impact of the movement of Russian women in a society which the authorities say is united behind the war effort. Women in Ukraine have also demanded their men be allowed back from the front. When Putin ordered a partial mobilisation of 300,000 reservists in September 2022, hundreds of thousands of young men rushed to leave Russia. Petitions to bring their men back produced almost no response, and Russia's defence ministry has barely engaged with the women, Andreeva said.

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Persons: Maria Andreeva, Yulia Morozova, Vladimir Putin, Andreeva, Putin, Dmitry Medvedev, Vitaly Milonov, Milonov, Guy Faulconbridge, Timothy Organizations: State Duma, REUTERS, Kremlin, Reuters, Russia's Security, New, Timothy Heritage, Thomson Locations: Russian, Ukraine, Moscow, Russia, MOSCOW, Soviet Union, Chechnya, Andreeva, Western