Russian youth activists strike for climate action despite government resistance

In at least five Russian cities, young activists joined a worldwide strike to push for action on the global climate crisis. The international environmental advocacy organization Greenpeace tweeted photographs of the demonstrations as part of a day-long action that gave youth organizers in various countries access to the Greenpeace account. Tweeting for Russia was Arshak Makichyan, who protested in Moscow.

While the Fridays For Future climate action movement and its activists reported mass school strikes in more than 1,350 cities and 110 countries, many of which involved thousands of students skipping classes to demonstrate, the Russian movement has faced pushback from a government reluctant to approve public protests. In Moscow, for example, the local government refused to grant permission for a mass demonstration, leaving Makichyan to picket alone while other activists posted photographs of themselves holding signs they had prepared for today’s strike.