But as casualties in Ukraine mount, that opposition is growing. “A bunch of young, capable people will die in this war or become disabled,” says Dmitry Palyuga, thirty-five. “This war is a catastrophe for the Russian Federation.” Besides crippling the country’s economy, the war will devastate Russian society. “Those who return will somehow have to continue their lives here in peacetime — it will be difficult. Previous wars have shown us we will once again have a ‘lost generation’ who will be really difficult to integrate back into civilian society.”

Both Baltrukov and Palyuga have paid the price for a higher profile. They were each fined just under $800 for discrediting the authorities — but risked being jailed for up to fifteen years. “We want to show solidarity because of the intimidation they’re facing,” said Ksenia Thorstrom, another St. Petersburg councillor who signed the petition. “We want to show we’re not scared. But of course we are.” Olga Fattush, fifty-seven, a councillor for the Gavan municipal district in St. Petersburg, was born in Ukraine and has family there. “How could I not sign this letter? The culprit for everything we are going through is Putin; he is the one who has done this. He has destroyed family ties. I am not the only one with this pain. There are thousands like me.”

The petitioners fear Putin is turning the clock back on Russia’s progress. A new iron curtain seems to be descending. “You can split life into before and after February 24, anyone here will tell you that,” says Timofei Nikolaev, another petitioner from Moscow, his voice faltering with emotion. “It’s hard.” Censorship has returned, as has the re-emergence of thought crime.

Anna Kisileva, another Smolninskoye councillor, says: “Everyone is waiting for this to end somehow. But there must be change of some sort… Many of my friends have left the country for political or practical reasons. They don’t see a future. Russia is full of talented, worthy people. We need to somehow improve our situation and rejoin the civilized world. Life in isolation is impossible.”