Russian Officials Publicly Called for Putin’s Resignation After Ukraine’s 2022 Counteroffensive, Prompting Kremlin Crackdown
A little known wave of political dissent swept through Russia in September 2022 after Ukraine’s stunning battlefield gains in the Kharkiv region, when dozens of elected municipal officials publicly demanded President Vladimir Putin’s resignation, an extraordinary act of defiance that triggered a swift crackdown by the Kremlin. Although the movement never threatened Putin’s grip on power, it marked one of the most visible instances of organized opposition by elected Russian officials since the full scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022.
Local Officials Demand Putin Step Down
The campaign began shortly after Ukrainian forces launched a rapid counteroffensive that recaptured thousands of square kilometers of occupied territory, dealing one of Russia’s most significant military setbacks of the war. Municipal deputies representing 18 districts across Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Kolpino signed an open declaration calling on Putin to resign from office.
The petition was organized by Ksenia Torstrem, a municipal deputy from St. Petersburg’s Semyonovsky district, who published the statement on social media. Within days, the number of supporters reportedly grew to more than 80 local elected officials. The declaration stated:
“We, the municipal deputies of Russia, believe that the actions of President Vladimir Putin are detrimental to the future of Russia and its citizens. We demand the resignation of Vladimir Putin from the position of President of the Russian Federation.”
Public criticism of the Russian president by elected officials is exceptionally rare, particularly following Moscow’s enactment of sweeping wartime censorship laws.
Calls for Impeachment Came First
The broader campaign began days earlier with two separate actions by municipal councils. In St. Petersburg, members of the Smolninskoye Municipal Council, led by Deputy Dmitry Palyuga, formally appealed to Russia’s State Duma to initiate impeachment proceedings against Putin under Article 93 of the Russian Constitution.
The deputies argued that the invasion of Ukraine had produced outcomes directly contrary to the Kremlin’s stated objectives. Their resolution cited the deaths of thousands of Russian soldiers, severe economic consequences, NATO’s expansion through the accession of Finland and Sweden, and increased militarization of Ukraine.
Around the same time, deputies from Moscow’s Lomonosovsky district issued their own public letter criticizing Putin’s leadership, describing his political model as outdated and arguing that it had pushed Russia back toward a Cold War mentality while limiting the country’s economic and social development.
Ukraine’s Battlefield Success Sparked Political Shock
The petitions coincided with Ukraine’s lightning counteroffensive in the Kharkiv region during September 2022. In a matter of days, Ukrainian forces reclaimed more than 3,000 square kilometers of territory, including the strategic cities of Izium, Kupyansk, and Balakliya. The rapid collapse of Russian defensive positions surprised military analysts and represented one of Ukraine’s most significant victories of the war.
The battlefield reversal fueled criticism from some Russian military commentators and nationalist figures, while also emboldening a small number of local elected officials to publicly question the Kremlin’s leadership.
Kremlin Responded With Rapid Crackdown
The Russian government’s response was swift. Authorities summoned several Smolninskoye deputies for police questioning and fined seven council members between 44,000 and 47,000 rubles under laws prohibiting the “discrediting” of the Russian armed forces.
Those laws, enacted shortly after Russia launched its full scale invasion, carry severe penalties, including prison sentences of up to 15 years in certain cases, for spreading information the government deems false about the military or for publicly criticizing the war. Soon afterward, a St. Petersburg court ordered the dissolution of the Smolninskoye Municipal Council, ruling that procedural violations, including an alleged failure to hold enough official meetings, invalidated the council’s authority.
Several prominent signatories later left Russia, faced criminal investigations, or were barred from seeking public office.
A Rare Display of Organized Political Opposition
Russia’s municipal councils wield little national political influence, and the petition posed no immediate threat to Putin’s presidency. Nevertheless, political analysts viewed the coordinated action as a rare public display of institutional dissent during wartime.
Since the invasion began, the Kremlin has dramatically expanded restrictions on political opposition, independent media, and anti war activism. Many prominent opposition figures have been imprisoned, exiled, or disqualified from participating in elections, while laws governing criticism of the military have sharply limited public debate.
The September 2022 petitions remain one of the clearest examples of elected local officials openly challenging Putin’s leadership during the war, illustrating both the emergence of limited domestic resistance following Russia’s military setbacks and the Kremlin’s willingness to use legal and administrative measures to suppress dissent.
