Arshak Makichyan
Arshak Makichyan 
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| Ethnicities | Armenian |
Arshak Makichyan (born c. 1993/1994) 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.