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The second March of Millions held by opposition activists in Moscow on Tuesday remains one of the most widely discussed topics in Russia. The march and the rally were peaceful, although many had expected new clashes and violations to take place. Not a single police officer was attacked; not one activist was detained. Perhaps, this was the result of the new law on rallies imposing high fines for violations. Leading Russian political analysts discussed the topic during a special meeting in Moscow.
Maksim Grigoryev, the director of the Democratic Research Foundation, was a public observer during the campaign and had positive impressions of what he saw there, saying, “That was almost an ideal rally from the point of view of public order with all participants behaving in a proper way. We saw how people marched and how the police watched the event. I was there myself. Some protesters came up to police officers to ask them what would be the best way to organise the march and at the same time create no obstacles to anybody. It means that there’s already a culture of protesting. I liked very much the way the police worked. They treated all protesters with respect. It’s worth mentioning that the march and the rally attracted people with very different political views. I think that amendments to the law on rallies have had a positive effect on society, forcing the most aggressive protesters to change their minds”.
The new law on rallies came into force on 9 June and caused loud debates, with many fearing that higher fines would just provoke more violence. The fears were in vain. Irina Yarovaya, the chairman of the RF Gosduma Security and Anti-Corruption Committee, described the new law as an “air cushion” for society, noting, “Opposition activists have probably understood that behaving properly won’t cost them anything. Actually, the opposition itself caused the amendments to the law on rallies after its activists incited aggression during previous rallies. Then, the police suppressed the provocations. After that, the parliament analysed the European legislation on rallies and approved adequate measures in Russia to ensure more security during upcoming rallies. I want to believe that those who organise the rallies have understood the level of their responsibility”.
Most analysts agree that the new law meets European norms… it doesn’t deprive people of their right to protest, whilst the fines are quite comparable to those used in the majority of developed countries. Latest opinion polls show most Russians approve the new law on rallies. In a survey conducted by the Public Opinion Foundation in 43 regions of Russia, 50 percent of respondents welcomed higher fines for violations during rallies. 38 percent of respondents think that higher fines would result in fewer violations during protest campaigns. More than 50 percent of Russians approve of the ban of wearing masks during rallies… if people want to express their views, they should do this openly.
15 June 2012
Lada Korotun
Voice of Russia World Service
There was No Million for “March of Millions” in Moscow
Tags: Aleksei Navalny, Boris Nemtsov, Gennady Gudkov, March of Millions, Mikhail Prokhorov, Moscow, opposition protests, opposition rallies, peaceful protests, political commentary, politics, Protest, protest actions, protesters, protests, Russia, Russian, Sergei Udaltsov, Yabloko, Yevgeniya Chirikova
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“The March of Millions” in the centre of Moscow was over several hours earlier than planned. On failing to hear a concrete program from the opposition, people began to disperse and the organisers started to dismantle the stage. According to the police, about 13,000 people came to the centre of Moscow to express discontent over government policy. The organisers claim that the number of people was ten times as large. Whatever it was, both figures are too small to justify the campaign’s name. One can’t even begin to compare them with the figures of the two previous campaigns. The record was set last winter on Bolotnaya Square, when, according to police reports, about 40,000 people attended a rally. Since then, the number of people who’ve attended opposition rallies has only decreased. It’s likely that this form of protest has run its course. There are no more high-profile newsmakers to showcase such events.
Aleksandr Tsipko, senior researcher at the Institute of International Economic and Political Studies, said, “The opposition still failed to present a concrete programme and a decent leader. The current leaders are insignificant in terms of their life experience. Chirikova’s a weird lady; Udaltsov’s a typical Russian revolutionary… Navalny’s an intellectual, but he’s reticent about his plans. This is the first reason why it won’t get too far, with such people in the lead. The second reason is very serious. It’s become clear to everyone that such protests, targeted against a single person, are very impulsive. They don’t propose any real programme. Its street theatre; its purpose is to emphasise one’s disagreement with the government”.
Until the very last moment, the people in the square hoped to hear a sound proposal from the opposition. In particular, they expected Boris Nemtsov, the leader of the liberal Republican Party of Russia – People’s Freedom Party (RPR-PARNAS), to sum up the points that liberals and leftists agreed on {in this case, the author is using “liberal” in the Russian sense, that is, “conservative” in the American sense: editor}. Nemtsov said in the beginning that the two parties had managed to agree, but then he was about to deny it, saying, “Our political demands are absolutely clear… immediate release of political prisoners. Are you with us? Our second demand is holding new fair parliamentary and presidential elections under the public control. Are you with us? Our resolution also contains social and economic demands. I want leftists and liberals, people in this square, all citizens of our enormous country, to know that we’d demand that the government freeze utility and housing rates. Are you with us? The leftists aren’t very loud; I can hear only liberals. What’s the matter?”
Nemtsov’s speech was a turning point. After his speech, people didn’t really listen to Gennady Gudkov, the RF Gosduma deputy who’d been removed from office, and blogger and businessman Aleksei Navlny. They expected to hear concrete statements from them, but what they heard were the same old slogans and appeals. It was remarkable that Russian United Democratic Party “Yabloko” activists and the supporters of former presidential candidate Mikhail Prokhorov didn’t come to the square. Aleksandr Tsipko said, “In such a situation, it’s difficult to speak about a split in the ranks of the opposition because the opposition doesn’t share any common ideas and it doesn’t have a single leader. Yabloko is a liberal democratic party, which has a history and roots. It’s a party of intellectuals. What can Yabloko and its leaders have in common with half-crazy liberals and crazy nationalists?”
Only Yevegeniya Chirikova, who plans to run for the post of the Mayor of Khimki, a city in Moscow Oblast, came up with more or less concrete statements. RF Gosduma deputy Aleksandr Trapeznikov said, “She was the only opposition leader who used this opportunity to check how popular her ideas were. It’s a normal step for the opposition, a civilised step. I urge all opposition leaders to stand as candidates for elections, if not this year, then, next year. If people like their ideas, they’ll make a difference, but so far, I don’t see it. Their slogans failed to gain traction amongst the majority of Russians”.
On Saturday, rallies similar to the one in Moscow occurred in many Russian cities. Opposition leaders said that such meetings would happen in every oblast, krai, and republic, but that didn’t happen. In St Petersburg, the “March of Millions” gathered 800 people, whilst in Saratov and Kazan it gathered 100 people.
15 September 2012
Maria Vesnovskaya
Voice of Russia World Service
http://english.ruvr.ru/2012_09_15/Moscow-has-no-million-for-March-of-millions/