The word 'war' is off-limits in Russia, but some politicians are accusing Putin of treason

When Nikita Yuferev and colleagues from the Smolninskoye local council in St. Petersburg, Russia, crafted a letter earlier this month calling for President Vladimir Putin to be removed from office, they needed to choose their words carefully. 

If they described what was happening in Ukraine as a "war," they could be sent to prison, like an opposition councillor from Moscow who was recently sentenced to seven years for discrediting the military. 

So they avoided the word, and instead accused Russia's president of "high treason."

"Vladimir Putin is the main existential threat to Russia," said Yuferev, in a Zoom interview with CBC from St. Petersburg on Sept. 15.

"We simply ask him to resign, because he poses a threat to the security of Russia and the safety of Russian citizens."

Yuferev's plea, which he sent to Russian lawmakers last week, was one of dozens recently made by local councillors. The group represents districts in Moscow, St. Petersburg and other areas of Russia. 

While their language and conviction is strong, these letters and petitions — which were submitted to Russia's State Duma, the country's lower house of parliament — are seen as largely symbolic.

These politicians hold very little power, and there are no signs Russia is letting up on the invasion it launched in February, even though its military has recently been forced out of a large swath of eastern Ukraine that it had occupied for months. 

In the letter that Yuferev helped draft, the councillors argued that Putin's decision to start the operation in Ukraine has been detrimental to Russian society, arguing that young citizens have been killed and some of the most educated have left the country.

They also say the Russian economy is struggling and that foreign companies have pulled out. 

Yuferev, 34, says after the letter was posted to social media, the councillors in his district received a lot of support from the public. 

He says that people came up to shake his hand on the street, and one man even offered to buy Yuferev, his wife and two children plane tickets to Mexico, so they could flee the country if they needed to. Yuferev says he politely declined the offer, as he has no intention of leaving Russia.

Even so, he and his fellow councillors were hauled into court in recent days and fined the equivalent of $1,000 Cdn. But Yuferev doesn't plan to pay the fine right away, as he and others want to challenge the court's decision, insisting they aren't doing anything illegal.

The court also ruled that several prior council meetings were invalid, paving the way for council to be dissolved, something Yuferev says pro-Putin lawmakers have been trying to do for three years, in order to discredit them.