Arshak Makichyan (born June 2, 1994) is a climate and anti-war activist based in Russia, originally from Armenia.[1][2] Until he was arrested in December 2019 he staged a solo school strike for the climate every Friday in Pushkin Square, Moscow,[3][4] for more than 40 weeks.[2][5] In Russia, individual protests are lawful but anything larger requires police permission.[6] Makichyan has applied to hold a bigger demonstration unsuccessfully more than 10 times.[5]

He has inspired others across Russia to take part in school strike for the climate, including other single person pickets in Moscow.[7] In December 2019 he was jailed for six days, hours after returning from Madrid, Spain, where he spoke at the 2019 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 25).[5][8]

After Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine he expanded his protests, writing "I'm against the war" on dozens of his climate stickers, since he wasn't able to find a shop that would print the word "war."[2] Makichyan was a social media manager, until his job "ceased to exist" after the Russian invasion of Ukraine led to websites being blocked in Russia.[2] After having to leave the country, he was put on trial while in exile in Germany, losing his Russian citizenship as a result. The Court accuses him of providing false information about himself when applying for his Russian citizenship in 2004, despite being just 10 years old at the time.[9]

He studied violin at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory.[1][10]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Brown, Jonathan (2019-06-30). "Moscow's lone climate protester: 'We need to talk about it now'". Al Jazeera News. Retrieved 2019-12-21.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Andreoni, Manuela (2022-04-01). "How war has upended life for climate activists in Russia". The New York Times. Retrieved 2022-04-01.
  3. ↑ Gorst, Isabel (2019-10-10). "Could Arshak Makichyan be Russia's answer to Greta Thunberg?". The Irish Times. Moscow. Retrieved 2019-12-21.
  4. ↑ Götze, Susanne (2019-07-24). "Fridays for Future in Moscow: Teen Challenges Putin's Climate Inactivity". Spiegel Online. Moscow. Retrieved 2019-12-21.
  5. 1 2 3 Watts, Jonathan (2019-12-20). "Russian climate activist inspired by Thunberg is jailed". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-12-21.
  6. ↑ Bargain, Héloïse (2019-04-26). "Meet Moscow's Lone #ClimateStrike Protester". The Moscow Times. Retrieved 2019-12-21.
  7. ↑ Wordsworth, Ada (2019-11-15). "I joined Moscow's secret climate strike movement and this is what I found". The Independent. Retrieved 2019-12-21.
  8. ↑ "Russian Climate Activist Jailed After Greta Thunberg-Led Protest". The Moscow Times. 2019-12-20. Retrieved 2019-12-21.
  9. ↑ "Climate Activist Arshak Makichyan Stripped of Russian Citizenship". The Moscow Times. 2022-11-01.
  10. ↑ Rainsford, Sarah (2019-10-04). "Climate strikes: Why Russians don't get Greta's climate message". BBC News. Moscow. Retrieved 2019-12-21.
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