Protests in Russia: Is there hope for the democratic model?

    President Putin has been in power (either as the Russian president or prime minister) for over 20 years. The constitutional changes made in 2020 allow him to run for reelection two more times and if he is reelected, he will remain Russia’s president until 2036 (Reuters 2020). One of the biggest critics of Putin and an opposition leader is Alexei Navalny who was severely poisoned last year with Novichok, a Soviet-era nerve agent (BBC 2020). Many, including Navalny, believe that Putin is behind the poisoning of the prominent opposition leader. After receiving medical treatment in Germany, Navalny returned to Moscow on January 17th, 2021 when he was immediately arrested. He was sentenced to nearly three years of prison time for failing to report to the police for his suspended sentence from 2014. Navalny’s team argued that these charges were absurd because he had reported to the police twice a month before his poisoning and it was impossible to do so after the Novichok attack since he was being treated in Germany and in a coma for a period of time (BBC 2021). The accused argued that the sentence was fabricated in order to silence him, saying that “[s]omeone did not want [him] to take a single step on the territory of Russia, and we know why. The reason is the fear of the man in the bunker” (Ray 2021).

Macdougall, J. (2020). https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2020/09/02/novichok-use-shows-only-state-could-have-poisoned-navalny-aide-a71326

    Navalny has been challenging the Kremlin and calling for anti-corruption for years. His most recent criticism of President Putin is the video exposé - “Putin's palace. History of world's largest bribe”. In it Navalny explains the history of Putin’s corruption schemes and his rise to power, and he describes the extremely expensive palace by the Black Sea, which Navalny claims was built for President Putin. Navalny’s arrest together with his continued criticism of Putin and work for anti-corruption in Russia has inspired millions of people to protest his arrest and call for a better Russia. Not all protesters fully support Navalny, but they nonetheless risked being subjected to violence because they don’t want to live in a country where people are scared to speak out and they strongly believe Russians deserve better (Roache 2021). Thousands of people are being arrested and authorities are using violence and brutality against the protesters. Amnesty International’s Moscow Office Director, Natalia Zviagina, says that “Russian authorities have arrested so many people in recent weeks that detention centres in Moscow have run out of space, and peaceful protesters are being held in deportation facilities” (Amnesty International 2021). The fact that Russia is a centralized state with a high degree of autonomy and its history as a communist state offer some clarity as to why the government would have a strong reaction to protesters. The Kremlin's response to these peaceful protesters and the use of force to silence critics serve as a reminder of what those in power are willing to do to remain in power, completely disregarding what their citizens demand.

Shemetov, M. (2021). Law enforcement officers detain a man during a rally in support of jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in Moscow, Russia [Photo]. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/news/picture/russia-detains-thousands-at-protests-aga-idUSRTX8SS94

    Russia’s demand for less corruption and a better future is not an isolated case. Many parallels can be drawn between the Russian protests and the protests in Belarus against the electoral fraud in the presidential elections that pronounced a landslide victory for Lukashenko in 2020. Lukashenko has been the president of Belarus for 26 years and the opposition leader, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, was exiled from her country. Like in Russia, authorities in Belarus have used violence against peaceful protesters. The government has subjected many journalists to intimidation, violence and jail, actively trying to silence everybody who would speak against Lukashenko (Bushuev 2021). Last August Lukashenko said that Putin had promised to help him in case he needed assistance to ensure control in Belarus. Both men have been in power for a long time and clearly signal to their citizens that they will not tolerate criticism and opposition. Both countries are facing major challenges with their governments which trying to hold on to power by enforcing means to silence those who voice their discontent.

Fedosenko, V. (2020). An injured man smokes a cigarette as he attends a rally following the presidential election in Minsk, Belarus [Photo]. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/news/picture/street-protests-in-belarus-after-contest-idUSRTX7OMH7 

    We are yet to see what the protests both in Russia and Belarus result in - whether the vast number of people speaking up and demanding justice will awaken a greater democratic future or if the appalling use of brutality by the government will erase any such hope. Judging from the Russian government’s desire to once again be considered a super power (after loosing that status following the end of the Cold War) and the fact that it seems to be unbothered by threats of sanctions, we may expect authorities to continue to employ violence and for the country to move further and further away from the democratic model. 

Link to relevant information regarding the protests in Russia - https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2021/01/russia-appalling-use-of-force-and-arrests-of-peaceful-protesters/


References:

Reuters. 2020. “Constitutional changes are the ‘right thing’ for Russia: Putin.” https://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-putin-constitution-idUSKBN2460OD (February 7, 2021).

Ray, Siladitya. 2021. “‘I Was In A Coma’: Navalny Ridicules Allegation He Failed To Meet Parole Officers In Moscow Court Hearing.” Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2021/02/02/i-was-in-a-coma-navalny-ridicules-allegation-he-failed-to-meet-parole-officers-in-moscow-court-hearing/?sh=51bd24323771 (February 7, 2021).

BBC. 2021. “Alexei Navalny: Russia’s Vociferous Putin Critic.“ https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-16057045 (February 7, 2021).

BBC. 2020. “Navalny ‘poisoned’: What are Novichok agents and what do they do.” https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-43377698 (February 7, 2021).

Bushuev, Mikhail. 2021. “The Lukashenko regime’s persecution of Belarus journalists.” DW. https://www.dw.com/en/the-lukashenko-regimes-persecution-of-belarus-journalists/a-56377758 (February 7, 2021).

Roache, Madeline. 2021. “‘The Whole System Needs Changing.’ The Russia Protests Are About More Than Just Alexei Navalny.” Time. https://time.com/5936827/russia-protests-alexey-navalny-inequality/ (February 7, 2021).

Amnesty International. 2021. “Russia: Appalling use of force and arrests of peaceful protesters.” https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2021/01/russia-appalling-use-of-force-and-arrests-of-peaceful-protesters/ (February 7, 2021).

Навальный, Алексей. (2021). “Putin’s Palace. History of world’s largest bribe.” YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipAnwilMncI&t=1578s (February 7, 2021).