Prospects for Russia’s protests unclear after rally
After calling two nationwide demonstrations in three months that have rattled the Kremlin, it’s clear that opposition leader Alexei Navalny has the ability to bring people into the streets.
What’s less certain, however, is whether the demonstrations can grow into a genuine political movement.
Tens of thousands of people took to the streets Monday in more than 100 cities and towns across Russia to express their frustration with President Vladimir Putin and governing elites who are largely perceived as corrupt and selfserving.
The Moscow rally broke with the tradition of an orderly opposition gathering where middle-aged protesters chanted anti-Putin slogans on a square in Moscow’s periphery.
Instead, the crowd of mostly teenagers and those in their 20s thronged to a main thoroughfare in the heart of the capital, chanting “Down with the czar!” and climbing scaffolds and lamp posts.
At least 1,750 people were detained at the protests across Russia, with baton-wielding police in riot gear seizing nearly 900 in Moscow alone.
Navalny, who called for the demonstrations, rose to prominence with his investigations of official corruption and is expanding his reach to a younger crowd by posting his videos to YouTube.
He was detained by police outside his Moscow home before he could even head to the protest. Navalny was sentenced early Tuesday to 30 days in jail.
Those figures usually described as opposition leaders ignored the protests, with the exception of some younger politicians like Ilya Yashin, who does not have much of a following.
Current Russian opposition groups and their leaders don’t seem to hold much attraction for the protesters, said Masha Lipman, an independent Moscow-based political analyst. Navalny may have galvanized the protest, but the slogans mostly targeted Putin and government corruption, with only a fraction expressing support for Navalny.
But Monday’s protests, held mostly in defiance of the authorities, lacked any specific political demands, other than a general message against government corruption.