Zelyonka attack

A zelyonka attack is a form of protest, provocation or violent assault, defined as throwing a solution of brilliant green (commonly known in Russian as zelyonka, зелёнка), a triarylmethane antiseptic dye, on the body (usually face) of a victim. On top of potential danger of vision loss, it is very hard to remove quickly; the complete natural removal may take up to a week.[1][2] In the 2010s, zelyonka attacks became widespread in Russia and Ukraine by pro-government activists against anti-government political and other personalities.[3][1]

Alexei Navalny after a zelyonka attack in Moscow (2017)

Zelyonka dye

Zelyonka is a triarylmethane antiseptic dye that is widely used medically in Russia and Ukraine.[1][4] The dye, often used as a milder alternative to iodine, is available in Russian pharmacies and drug stores.[5][6] The dye is very hard to wash off and can leave a stain for days afterwards, and requires an acid to fully remove.[2] However, unless zelyonka is mixed with other substances (e.g. as with the second attack on Alexei Navalny), it leaves no long-term damage, and thus victims have little legal recourse.[1][2]

Victims and influence

The use of the dye was associated with pro-Kremlin activists, although it was never directly tied to the Russian government.[1] The victims of zelyonka attacks were almost always Russian opposition voices, such as Sergey Mitrokhin, Mikhail Kasyanov, Lyudmila Ulitskaya, Pussy Riot activists Maria Alyokhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, and Alexei Navalny, and Ukrainian politicians, journalists and activists, including Petro Poroshenko, Arsen Avakov, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, Oleksandr Turchynov, Oleh Lyashko, and Ruslan Kotsaba.[7][1][8]

In 2023, journalist Elena Milashina was attacked in the Russian region of Chechnya. The attackers shaved her head and covered her in zelyonka.[9]

As a result of numerous attacks, part of the Russian opposition leaders began to use zelyonka and green color as a "badge of honor". After Navalny was attacked in Barnaul, dozens of his supporters posted online photos of themselves "in green" (#GreenNavalny[10]), and blogger Nikolai Danilov, who came to Red Square with a face covered with green colour, was detained by the police. When Kasyanov was attacked on the memorial march for Boris Nemtsov, the demonstrants began to cry out: "You won't pour zelyonka over us!"[11][12]

On 4 May 2017, Alexei Navalny stated that the incidents involving zelyonka ended up helping his fundraising.[13] On the same day, Russian poet Dmitry Bykov published a poem "Vivat, Green Russia!", in which green color was named as the color of "Russian revolution".[14]

The numerous attacks on Russian anti-government political and media personalities, accompanied by photographs of people who were attacked with the dye, forced the Russian media to explain to their foreign readers, most of whom are not familiar with the brilliant green dye, just what zelyonka is and what has been happening.[15][16]

See also

References
  1. Editorial (10 May 2017). "Why are Russian opposition leaders' faces turning green?". The Economist. Retrieved 10 July 2019. Zelyonka has become the weapon of choice for less lethal attacks. The dye is hard to wash off, but unless mixed with other substances (as in the second attack on Mr Navalny), it does no lasting damage, leaving victims with little legal recourse. Much of the thuggery takes place at arm's length from the Kremlin, but seemingly with its blessing.
  2. Oleg Kashin (10 May 2017). "Russian Terrorism Now Comes in Green!". New York Times. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  3. Julia Smirnova (2017-05-03). "Russland: Bei Chemikalien-Angriffen auf Kritiker schaut der Kreml weg". Die Welt. Retrieved 2017-05-06.
  4. "How the Soviet-Era Antiseptic "Zelyonka" Became a Political Weapon in Russia and Ukraine". 6 May 2017. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  5. John H. Maclean (2004). The Russian Adoption Handbook: How to Adopt from Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Bulgaria, Belarus, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Moldova. iUniverse. pp. 324–. ISBN 978-0-595-30115-7.
  6. "What is zelenka and why does Kremlin-critic Navalny keep getting splashed with it?". Newsweek. 28 April 2017. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  7. Nikolay Syrov (2017-03-23). "'Zelyonka': the Anti-Putin Antiseptic". Global Voices. Retrieved 2017-05-08.
  8. Stavska, Yana (25 Jun 2021). "Ведучого "каналу Медведчука" облили зеленкою в Івано-Франківську (відео)" [The host of the "Medvedchuk channel" was doused with brilliant green in Ivano-Frankivsk (video)]. UNIAN (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2022-12-02.
  9. "Prominent Russian journalist and lawyer attacked in Chechnya". Al Jazeera. 2023-04-23. Retrieved 2023-09-23.
  10. Estatie, Lamia (2017-03-21). "Russian opposition leader goes green and Australians share stories of racism". BBC News. Retrieved 2017-05-06.
  11. "Putin-Gegner reagiert mit Humor auf Farbattacke". Tages-Anzeiger, Tages-Anzeiger (in German). 2017-03-20. 1422-9994. Retrieved 2017-05-06.
  12. "Der Kreml ist ihm gar nicht grün: Putin-Rivale lächelt nach Farb-Attacke". Blick (in German). Retrieved 2017-05-06.
  13. Damien Sharkov (2017-04-28). "What is zelenka and why does Kremlin-critic Navalny keep getting splashed with it?". Newsweek. Retrieved 2017-05-06.
  14. Dmitry Bykov. "Виват, "зеленая" Россия!". Собеседник.ру (in Russian). Retrieved 2017-05-06.
  15. Emmanuel Grynszpan (2017-05-04). "Le "brillant vert", nouvelle arme contre l'opposition". Le Temps (in French). Retrieved 2017-05-06.
  16. "Russie. Les attaques au produit colorant, nouvelle arme contre l'opposition?". Courrier international (in French). 2017-03-21. Retrieved 2017-05-06.

Sources
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