The mothers and wives of Russian soldiers daring to defy Putin – podcast

Wearing white scarves and clutching flowers to lay at the tomb of the unknown soldier, or standing outside the Kremlin, they are unexpected protesters. Mothers and wives whose sons and husbands have been conscripted into the Russian army to fight in Ukraine. Some were once Putin’s supporters; others still believe the war in Ukraine is a just one. But all of them want their men to come home – and they are risking everything to let the world know.

The Guardian’s Russian affairs correspondent, Pjotr Sauer, has spoken to one of the most prominent of the women, Maria Andreevas, about what her husband is going through and why she does not want him to fight any more. He explains how other protesters in Russia are treated, and why the soldiers’ mothers and wives could be surprisingly difficult critics to deal with.

Nosheen Iqbal finds out what the women’s protests say about the way the war is seen in Russia, and hears about Putin’s attempts to stamp down on critics. Will the protests change anything?