These posters reading “НЕТ ВОЙНЕ” (“No to war”) were printed in late February 2022. Some brave girls took them to the streets of Moscow, including the Red Square. I applaud their courage to publicly speak out against Putin’s war and the violent aggression of the Russian military against the people of Ukraine. A few days later, even such modest pacifist protest against the invasion was criminalized by the Russian parliament: state authorities now wield much stronger powers to crack down on any dissenting voices, including such that dare to call the war by its name.

The posters were letterpress printed from an old Cyrillic wood typeface. It’s a condensed gothic with caps only, probably from around the 1930s to 1960s. Matching Latin caps were added later. Its origin and official name are unknown.

No to war! Ні війні! Нет войне!