<h2 class=" eplus-wrapper"><strong>Putin up with it?</strong></h2>

Protestors are packed into police vans like sardines. Police batons crack. One young woman is hauled away, wailing "we just want to protect our boys". The famous slogan blares around her: "No to war!"

Protests raged around Russia on Wednesday night after Putin announced that Russians in the military reserve would be mobilised to go to war with Ukraine. The protests led to almost 1,400 arrests.

The protests are small compared to the first anti-war movement in February and March, which saw over 4,300 arrests across 21 cities. 

The cause is not laziness. Some of the protesters were given draft papers which could force them to fight for the Russian army. Social media clips claim to show police murdering a young female protestor in Moscow.

Many are trying to leave Russia in response. One Telegram channel called "Border Control" has more than 245,000 subscribers who write about their experiences trying to leave the country. 

One user, who flew from Moscow to YerevanThe capital of Armenia. , was terrified: "The border guards asked me when I bought my ticket, whether I am eligible for military service, whether I received draft papers. My knees shook with fear."

Russians' resignation on regime change may surprise some of us. Russia has a long history of resistance, with several revolutions and many political clashes. Most of Russia's most respected writers were against authority.

So why are Russians choosing to flee, rather than to fight? "We cannot forget that the majority of Russians still support the war against Ukraine," 41-year-old Daria Nikolaeva, who is from KrasnodarA city of one million in southern Russia. , tells The Day.

Some say that Russia's hopes lie abroad. Dmitriy Borodin, who left St PetersburgA port city on the Baltic Sea and the second largest city in Russia. at the start of the war, says "Russian expats are organising, planning, and trying to show support for Ukraine".

*Some names have been changed to protect people who spoke to us in confidence.

Yes: Russians want to shake off autocratic rule, especially now that it is endangering their loved ones. Putin's actions are those of a desperate man who knows that his political life is ending.

No: The Russian people are being terrorised. They could have started a revolution when the war began, but they faced a price that many thought was too high to pay. Now, the danger is emerging.

Or... It is hard to tell. How can Russians start a revolution when they cannot take peacefully to the streets, or even text their friends privately? At the same time, it is clear that Russians are reaching the edge of what they can tolerate.

Yerevan - The capital of Armenia.

Krasnodar - A city of one million in southern Russia.

St Petersburg - A port city on the Baltic Sea and the second largest city in Russia.