Russia's Kremlin is on the back foot. Russian opposition parties have spearheaded plans for mass rallies to protest what they say were rigged elections on 4th December. In attendance will be a man who, to some extent, is known as the one of the foremost anti-Putin dissenters and was recently released from jail for participating in a demonstration on the 10th of December; blogger Alexei Navalny. The 10th of December protest had some 50,000 participants, and interestingly, was the largest anti-government protest since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. Estimates for the number of attendees at these new sets of protests (which have been approved by the authorities), however, range from 60,000 to over 70,000. President Dmitry Medvedev has announced a few pint-sized reforms, but they are not enough for the Russian opposition who are demanding a rerun of the poll.
Clearly what can be seen here is the result of several years of discontent with Putin’s United Russia party, but this swelling of public disgruntlement, combined with the fact that of late, the authorities have been unable to effectively counter protests like in years before, indicates that the Russian public are overwhelmingly ready for a change. However, that’s where the problem lies. The opposition parties lack a single leader able to unite it, and that is one reason why analysts have been unable to place much confidence in the opposition. That being said, however, it is certain that the opposition have the support of the people.
Will a domino effect occur in the region? Belarus is still in its own little Soviet hangover, with state-control of the economy and two current Presidential candidates still languishing in jail. The man behind this, President Alyaksandr Lukashenka, just last year crushed a protest of over 10,000 people in Minsk. It remains to be seen whether a spillover of democratic sentiment will transpire.
Clearly what can be seen here is the result of several years of discontent with Putin’s United Russia party, but this swelling of public disgruntlement, combined with the fact that of late, the authorities have been unable to effectively counter protests like in years before, indicates that the Russian public are overwhelmingly ready for a change. However, that’s where the problem lies. The opposition parties lack a single leader able to unite it, and that is one reason why analysts have been unable to place much confidence in the opposition. That being said, however, it is certain that the opposition have the support of the people.
Will a domino effect occur in the region? Belarus is still in its own little Soviet hangover, with state-control of the economy and two current Presidential candidates still languishing in jail. The man behind this, President Alyaksandr Lukashenka, just last year crushed a protest of over 10,000 people in Minsk. It remains to be seen whether a spillover of democratic sentiment will transpire.
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