Opposition to Vladimir Putin in Russia
Opposition to the government of President Vladimir Putin in Russia, commonly referred to as the Russian opposition, can be divided between the parliamentary opposition parties in the State Duma and the various non-systemic opposition organizations. While the former are largely viewed as being more or less loyal to the government and Putin, the latter oppose the government and are mostly unrepresented in government bodies. According to Russian NGO Levada Center, about 15% of the Russian population disapproved of Putin in the beginning of 2023. The opposition to Putin's political views is also called anti-Putinism.
The "systemic opposition" is mainly composed of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, Communist Party of the Russian Federation, A Just Russia – For Truth, New People and other minor parties; these political groups, while claiming to be in opposition, generally support the government's policies.
Major political parties considered to be part of the non-systemic opposition include Yabloko and the People's Freedom Party, along with the unregistered party Russia of the Future and Libertarian Party of Russia. Other notable opposition groups included the Russian Opposition Coordination Council and The Other Russia, as well as various non-governmental organizations.
Their supporters vary in political ideology, ranging from liberals, communists, socialists, and anarchists, to Russian nationalists. They are mainly unified by their opposition to Putin and government corruption. However, a lack of unity within the opposition has also hindered its standing. Opposition figures claim that a number of laws have been passed and other measures taken by Putin's government to prevent them from having any electoral success.
Background and composition
The Guardian report from Luke Harding noted that during the 2000s Neo-Nazis, Russian nationalists, and ultranationalist groups were the most significant opposition to Putin's government.Prominent Russian liberal opposition figure Alexei Navalny said before his 2020 poisoning that the Kremlin was "far more afraid of ultra-nationalists than they were of him", noting that " use the same imperial rhetoric as Putin does, but they can do it much better than him".
On 4 March 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law a bill introducing prison sentences of up to 15 years for spreading "fake news" about Russia's military operation in Ukraine; thousands of Russians have been prosecuted under this law for criticizing Russia's invasion of Ukraine, including opposition politician Ilya Yashin and artist Aleksandra Skochilenko. Persecution was directed against pro-democracy and anti-war Russians, while criticism of the Putin regime by pro-war activists and ultranationalists was largely ignored.
Levada Center polls from 2022 indicated that there were at least 30 million pro-European Russians who opposed the war in Ukraine, but very few of them were able to leave Russia. Literary critic Galina Yuzefovich said that leaving Russia is a "privilege" for those who can "afford it".
In 2022 and 2023 Political experts in Russia and in the United States have described the far-right ultranationalist opposition to Putin as possibly "the most serious challenge" to the Russian regime.
Some observers noted what they described as a "generational struggle" among Russians over perception of Putin's rule, with younger Russians more likely to be against Putin and his policies and older Russians more likely to accept the narrative presented by state-controlled media in Russia. Putin's approval rating among young Russians was 32% in January 2019, according to the Levada Center. Another poll from the organization placed Putin's support among Russians aged 18–24 at 20% in December 2020.
Actions and campaigns
Current campaigns of the opposition include the dissemination of anti-Putin reports such as Putin Must Go, Putin. Results. 10 years, Putin. Corruption and Life of a Slave on Galleys. Video versions of these reports, entitled Lies of Putin's regime, have been viewed by about 10 million times on the Internet.In addition, smaller-scale series of actions are conducted. For example, in Moscow in the spring of 2012 saw a series of flash mobs "White Square", when protesters walked through the Red Square with white ribbons, in the late spring and summer, they organized the protest camp "Occupy Abay" and autumn they held weekly "Liberty walks" with the chains symbolizing solidarity with political prisoners.
A monstration is a parody demonstration where participants gently poke fun at Kremlin policies.
Participation in elections
Some opposition figures, for example, chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov, said there are no elections in Putin's Russia, and that participation in a procedure called elections only legitimizes the regime.On the other hand, a small part of liberals consider elections as the main tool to achieve their political goals.
History
2001 "Save NTV" protests
One of the earliest acts of dissent against Vladimir Putin were the protests against the takeover of the independent television NTV by Putin-aligned Gazprom from 31 March to 14 April 2001. Members of the State Duma from the opposition, including Boris Nemtsov and Grigory Yavlinsky, were present and demanded the preservation of the ownership critical of the Russian government. The protester demands were not met.2004–2005 Russian benefits monetization protests
These protests were directed against Putin's economic reforms that were seen as primarily driven by a controversial social welfare overhaul and changes to Russia's political structure.2006–2008 Dissenters' March
The Dissenters' March was a series of Russian opposition protests started in 2006. It was preceded by opposition rallies in Russian cities in December 2005 which involved fewer people. Most of the Dissenters' March protests were unsanctioned by authorities. The Dissenters' March rally was organized by The Other Russia, a broad umbrella group that included opposition leaders, including National Bolshevik Party with its leader Eduard Limonov, far-left Vanguard of Red Youth as well as liberals such as former world chess champion and United Civil Front leader Garry Kasparov.2009–2011 Strategy-31
Strategy-31 was a series of civic protests in support of the right to peaceful assembly in Russia guaranteed by Article 31 of the Russian Constitution. Since 31 July 2009, the protests were held in Moscow on Triumfalnaya Square on the 31st of every month with 31 days. Strategy-31 was led by writer Eduard Limonov and human rights activist Lyudmila Alexeyeva.2011–2013 Russian protests
Starting from 5 December 2011, the day after the elections to the State Duma, there have been repeated massive political actions of Russian citizens who disagree with the outcome of these "elections". The current surge of mass opposition rallies has been called in some publications "a snow revolution". These rallies continued during the campaign for the election of the President of Russia and after 4 March 2012, presidential election, in which Putin officially won the first round. The protesters claimed that the elections were accompanied by violations of the election legislation and widespread fraud. One of the main slogans of the majority of actions was "For Fair Elections!" and a white ribbon has been chosen as symbol of protests. Beginning from spring 2012 the actions were called marches of millions and took the form of a march followed by a rally. The speeches of participants were anti-Putin and anti-government.The "March of Millions" on 6 May 2012 at the approach to Bolotnaya Square was dispersed by the police. In the Bolotnaya Square case 17 people are accused of committing violence against police. A large number of human rights defenders and community leaders have declared the detainees innocent and the police responsible for the clashes.
For the rally on 15 December 2012, the anniversary of the mass protests against rigged elections, the organizers failed to agree with the authorities, and participation was low. Several thousand people gathered without placards on Lubyanka Square and laid flowers at the Solovetsky Stone.
2014 anti-war protests
In 2014, members of the Russian opposition have held anti-war protests in opposition to the Russian military intervention in Ukraine in the aftermath of the 2014 Ukrainian revolution and Crimean crisis. The March of Peace protests took place in Moscow on 15 March, a day before the Crimean status referendum. The protests have been the largest in Russia since the 2011 protests. Reuters reported that 30,000 people participated in 15 March anti-war rally.2017–2018 Russian protests
On 26 March 2017, protests against alleged corruption in the Russian government took place simultaneously in many cities across the country. The protests began after the release of the film He Is Not Dimon to You by Alexei Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation. An April 2017 Levada poll found that 45% of surveyed Russians supported the resignation of Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, against it 33% of respondents. Newsweek reported that "An opinion poll by the Moscow-based Levada Center indicated that 38 percent of Russians supported the rallies and that 67 percent held Putin personally responsible for high-level corruption."A May 2017 Levada poll found that 58% of surveyed Russians supported the protests, while 23% said they disapprove.
2018 Russian pension protests
From July 2018, almost every weekend, protest rallies and demonstrations were organized against the planned retirement age hike. Such events occurred in nearly all major cities countrywide including Novosibirsk, St.-Petersburg and Moscow. These events were coordinated by all opposition parties with the leading role of the communists. Also trade unions and some individual politicians functioned as organizers of the public actions.An intention to hike the retirement age has drastically downed the rating of the President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev in Russia. So in July 2018, just 49% would vote for Putin if the presidential elections were held in that moment.