Daily Times

Sitting at a cafe in Moscow, Yulia swiped through a carousel of men on her phone’s dating app, trying to guess if the people in the pictures shared her views.

“I started to include the artists that I listen to in the bio. It’s kind of a hint at my thinking,” the 21-year-old freelance photographer said, choosing her language carefully.

Since Russia launched its full-scale military operation in Ukraine in February 2022, thousands of people have been denounced, fined or thrown in jail for expressing opposition to the conflict.

According to opinion polls, only a minority of young people living in Russia disapprove of the offensive. A June poll by the independent Levada centre suggested 30 percent of 18-24 year-olds disapprove, compared with 59 percent who approve. For young, liberal Russians who want to avoid hooking up with hardline pro-army patriots, dating has become a minefield. “After 2022, I stopped giving links to any publications that I read,” Yulia said of her online dating profile.

Gone were any articles expressing tolerance towards LGBTQ people or opposition to the Ukraine conflict — opinions that can land you in jail. Instead, she listed her favourite musicians as Zemfira and Monetochka, singers who have criticised Russia’s offensive in Ukraine and have been declared “foreign agents” by Moscow.

‘Very classy’: The dating scene can also be tricky to navigate for those who back the offensive.

Several groups on social media organise “patriotic meetings” for supporters of the Kremlin and military to search for potential matches offline. Arseny Blavatsky, a 24-year-old PR manager and self-confessed admirer of President Vladimir Putin, said he was looking for “an ideologically close partner”.

“Since February 2022, nobody can be apolitical,” he told AFP at a speed-dating event held in a Moscow restaurant, his fourth so far. For Arseny, avoiding ideological conflict in a relationship is a must. He recalled his frustration after meeting one girl whom he called “very classy” but politically incompatible.