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Dear all, I’ve translated for you Dima Drozdov’s report on the rally in my city. My own notes are in asterisks *notes*. The source in Russian is here
https://pikabu.ru/story/miting_v_krasnodare_23_yanvarya_7976520—
As promised, I am posting a small report on the rally in support of Navalny in Krasnodar.To begin with, I must say that I’m not a supporter either of Navalny or Putin. I’m a communist. I went to the rally to observe and draw some conclusions for myself about the protest potential in the country as a whole and in the city in particular.
In social networks, the place of the beginning of the rally was the Triumphal Arch at the crossing of the streets Krasnaya and Babushkina. I arrived at 13:30, a little earlier than the appointed time. There were already quite a lot of people, about a thousand. A small square with a fountain in front of the Arch was full. I didn’t go there; I preferred to watch for a while from aside, staying on the steps of the nearest shop.
The rally began at 14:00. In my opinion, the number of people was quite small, only a little more than a thousand. Actually I thought that everything would die out. But after shouting a little “Putin is a thief” and “Freedom to Navalny”, the entire crowd of protesters moved along Krasnaya *street* to the Krasnodar Region administration *building*.
In fact, I was a little surprised, because it’s rather a long walk to get there (I attach the video of the procession). During the procession there was no trouble, now and then the crowd shouted the same chants, everyone was in high spirits, most were having fun.
We walked to the administration for about an hour and on approaching it I realized that I had been very mistaken.
Firstly, there were already a lot of people there, about 2 times more than those at the Triumphal Arch. Secondly, people kept arriving and arriving like a river. By the beginning of the rally at the administration, to my observation, probably more than 5000 people had gathered in the park. Again I attach the video.The meeting itself was very peaceful; I sat down on a bench with a good view of the park and watched. People shouted chants, the police tried hard not to call the protesters’ eyes. One block away from the rally I saw 2 buses of OMON *special police department*. The men were talking about something, smiling.
By 17 o’clock the bulk *of the crowd* had already begun to disperse, only the most persistent remained.
Small notes about the participants of the meeting.
Protesters
In general, everything was peaceful, I haven’t seen any aggressive action, no fighting. The indignation was clearly directed not at the people or even at the police, but at the government.
There was actually one unpleasant moment that I helped to prevent.
While I was sitting on a bench, right in front of me 6 young guys met and began to warm up clearly aggressively, saying “Well, are we going to jump on astronauts?” *allusion to the police helmets* My bun almost got stuck across my throat at this impudence, given that a policeman was standing literally just 100 meters away. I got up, went up to the police and told them that provocations should be expected from these guys. Seeing this, they *the guys* immediately ran into the crowd. Apparently they just disappeared from the rally then.Police
The men are great, they behaved as carefully as possible. On the way of the procession, traffic police officers accompanied us and tried not to detain the line of people, transferring us across the road along the route. At the very place of the rally, they didn’t bother the protesters, but were ready to come to the help if something happened. During the time that I was there, no one was detained. Everything was quiet and peaceful.Children
I haven’t seen children at all. There were young people, but I saw nobody under the age of 18 at the rally. And of course there were no strollers with babies, nothing like that.Summary
In general, I got the impression that people did not go to the rally for Navalny, but to show the government that it’s time to start pro-active actions. Incomes are falling down, a huge number of people are in debt *here is a Russian idiom*, the standard of living for many is at the bottom. Taxes, dollar exchange rate, prices in stores, increase in utility bills. All this adds zero confidence points to the government.
For Krasnodar, which is usually very slack *apathetic* in terms of city rallies, 5000 is a huge number. Of course it cannot be said that they reflect the position of the entire city. But we can say for sure that they reflect the position of a rather large cut of it. The number of those who came was 2 times more than at the rally against the pension reform, which hints that the situation is getting worse.I think we can confidently say that this rally is a sign. A sign to Vladimir Vladimirovich [Putin] in the first place. It’s time to get down to the country’s affairs. People are starting to feel tired.
Thanks, Tatyana, for the translation. Very interesting report. Estimating numbers at demonstrations is not easy to do accurately without an overhead view.
Thanks for this Tatyana, it reads really well and gives a great sense of a peaceful demonstration of discontent. Interesting to note that if such an event occurred in any UK city on that day it would have been stopped short by the police for breaking Cv19 rules.
Thanks for that comprehensive report Tatyana, how handy for Putins Police to have this ‘opposition’ on every Cctv camera available. dont know whether there is face recognition technology involved, but every call out to supporters by Navalny is an opportunity to gather data against him.
Thanks for your feedback!
Unfortunately, not everything is that good. There was a trouble in my city too.
A young man climbed up the monument and demonstrated this
This report gave me a mixture of feelings. The first is – that’s amusing, what did he want to say with this gesture? The second is – well, I don’t mind looking at the naked ass of a young man, sometimes 🙂 The third feeling is – it makes me really sad and ashamed, to see he had chosen the monument to Cossacks.
My ancestors are Cossacks, they came to this wild virgin uncultivated land and turned it into a blooming garden. This monument has nothing to do with Navalny or the government. Why not climbing up a lamppost when he had a sudden attack of exhibitionism?Seems it was not that peaceful in other cities. Pikabu starts collecting videos. I’m not embedding it here, you can watch on the page
https://pikabu.ru/story/mirnyiy_protest_ot_230121_7977587I’d like to post this video here, for comparison.
Ukraine, that’s how provocation works.
https://youtu.be/KoWs8drqS9AAnd things looking not so good in the Netherlands with rioting. Makes Krasnodar a haven of peaceful demonstrators!
I’ve seen some from the Netherlands, and that was truly astonishing, given that people protested against lockdowns… Why I mean is that real that police used water cannons? Why?
Do you agree with the author, in his summary, that the protesters were not motivated by their sympathy for Navalny, but were there because they were struggling financially and wanted the government to support the economy?
I believe there were virtual protests about the financial situation across the country when the public holiday was extended by weeks in Spring last year. Why such a big gap between these demonstrations, if this Navalny protest really was not about Navalny?
What do Russian people think the government should be doing to help the economy? Did Putin not call upon the regions themselves to instigate measures to boost the economy?
Another question Tatyana, I here from various sources that the true opposition in Russia against Putin comes from the communists who poll I think around 30%. Is this the case? I notice that the person who took these videos was a communist.
@Ewan
Yes, I agree with the author, people went to the rally because of the financial situation.
You ask why such a protest did not happen in the spring, but in January – I believe that in this case the mood of the people was well fueled by the video about the Palace, so you can see that people are shouting Putin is a thief and are carrying toilet brushes.People shout “freedom to Navalny” – this is not a condemnation of the arrest, it’s an expression of support for his anti-corruption activities.
The government and economy: a couple of days ago, Putin spoke at a forum in Davos and he has a very clear idea of what’s going on and what should be done. While Navalny has no plan, no program, I don’t see how he could deal with the economy.
Navalny’s supporters want to give him more power, but I cannot see how it’s good idea. Navalny divides people into friend / foe and promotes violence, this is not suitable for a multi-ethnic, multi-religious Russia. Navalny knows how to spy and expose illegal schemes, he would be excellent intelligence agent, or anti-corruption investigator, or debt collector. Nothing of the scale of a city manager or president.
@SA
After the collapse of the USSR, we went through such desperate times of savage capitalism that it’s not surprising a large part of the population is nostalgic for stability and is looking for a safe haven in the Communist Party. However, here is a picture from Wiki, red circles are for communists
This is the Russian “House of Commons”. 41 out of 450 hardly makes even 10%
I now know where the 30% comes from. It was the presidential elections but that was way back in 1996 when Zyuganov polled even 40% in the second election. Even though small now the communists seem to be the second largest party and you seem to have a very skewed Duma with little effective opposition.
@SA
The United Russia party’s politics is simple and understandable – to unite the people living here. It’s important because we have a lot of points for disagreement, we are very different in multiple regions. Federation.I see Putin’s efforts to reconcile ethnic and religious differences, and I am glad that this party has a majority and supported by many.
I too believe that people can achieve much more if they work together. A lot of people = a large domestic market, which allows for large projects, roads, bridges, gas pipelines, space = jobs, education, health care, better future for kids.Opposition to this? I don’t know, maybe it will happen someday. That man who was falsely killed by Putin’s hieromonk in Ukraine, that man said he wants Russia to be desintegrated into many small principalities.
No thanks. I see this in Ukraine and Georgia. I don’t trust Stanford University alumni. I don’t want Biden’s sons, or the Israeli oligarchs, or the offshore aristocracy appointed as managers for ex-russian colonies.I’m not sure what the agenda of modern communists is, but the very idea associated with this word is compromised, so I think communism is unlikely to find wide support.
Strange to say Navalny is not qualified for a political leadership position because of his anti corruption foundation. Is Putin qualified when he was an actual spy? I don’t think Navalny knows how to spy – is this not a lie of the Putin regime?
Why do people not care about the arrest of Navalny when it seems to be politically motivated? I think it sounds like a great criticism of the Russian people to say they are only motivated by material considerations and don’t actually care about the rule of law and democratic institutions.
I just skimmed an article on Putin’s recent Davos speech but couldn’t see anything about the situation in Russia. I doubt he knows what to do in the country with regards to helping the population economically, or if he does know he is intent on pursuing other objectives.
Can you relate what Putin says needs to be done in the economy in Russia?
I think it is strange to view Putin as competent in managing the economy considering the huge crash in real earnings since 2014.
I think Navalny is a better bet for president, since he has not yet been proved to be totally corrupt and basically a gangster like Putin has.
@Ewan
have you seen Navalny’s film about the Palace?
Maybe you’d like to have a look at this?
https://youtu.be/vBcWdHe8j_gCome on, Navalny IS totally corrupt. Intolerant. His wife too. Just now I’ve seen her dialogue with Slepakov. Navalny’s supporters too, intolerant and aggressive.
I congratulate you on your wee propaganda video you and your colleagues in the Troll Factory have made. Quite convincing.
Navalny supporters are normal young people who have not yet extinguished their hopes and dreams of a better future. It is Putin’s State Terrorism that is violent.
Nemtsov shot in the face yards from the Kremlin.
Politovskaya poisoned.
Navalny poisoned twice, his wife once.
Many others.
EdinoRos is far too much like the Politburo of the USSR. It is such a terrible crime, in a country so rich in resources and with such a good people that the leadership steal the riches and leave most of the people in abject poverty.
Ewan
Navalny may have had a chance if he has not been so openly a stooge of the west. That must be anathema to most Russians after the sellout of the Yeltsin years.Ewan
Steady on, your post sounds like Atlantic council propaganda. The corruption in Russia is probably no more than anywhere else where there are many oligarchs, the west has just had it longer and refined the techniques. If the west had not initiated the economic reforms that were forced on Russia OM 1990 things might be different. But for a more nuanced approach see Dances With Bears.How is he a stooge of the West? He seems totally intent on tackling problems in Russia for Russians.
Anyone that fights for better pay and jobs for Russians is a stooge for the West? Strange.
I guess it is kind of similar with Corbyn here getting called a stooge for Russia when he was trying to introduce policies that would benefit the people of the UK.
It’s logical in a surreal way!
And if you believe that Navalny was recently poisoned by the GRU with novichok then you believe anything.
Wow. Does the regime pay you or do you just volunteer?
—
[ Mod: Ewan, ‘SA’ is definitely not a troll. He has a long history of posting here without censure.May I remind you that it’s against forum etiquette to accuse people of being trolls, shills or stooges. That’s for the moderators to judge. From the moderation rules for commenters:
Fair Play
Play the ball, not the man. Address arguments, not people. Do not impugn the motives of others.If you do so again, further replies from you will require moderator approval.
Regards. ]
The corruption in the West is much different than in Russia. The corruption in Russia is far more open and much more destructive for their institutions and economy.
In the West we do not have State Terrorism. I mostly focus my attention on criticising the regime here in the UK, but I can’t just let you Putin advocates write all this propaganda without some pushback – me in solidarity with the Russian people.
I’m Russian and I see your phrase “propaganda video you and your colleagues in the Troll Factory have made”
Is it your ‘solidarity’ ???
Your cinical lie and your attack in my direction is another evidence that Navalny’s supporters are intolerant and aggressive. Congratulations on proving my point.Oh I suffer serious hardship being paid in rubles. I tried to negotiate payment in $ but times are hard.
Seriously though Ewan. The west can’t solve Russia’s problems they have to be solved by the Russians. The state terrorism of the west is not directed internally because there are simpler ways of controlling the population. The real state terrorism is the wars of aggression on many countries resulting in death and destruction and still continuing. We in the west have to put our house in order first before criticing others.
