Alexei Navalny: Russia’s new rebel who has Vladimir Putin in his sights
On a freezing winter day last month, a tall man with blond hair walked up to a microphone in northern Moscow and began speaking to 80,000 people. This was not a rock concert or a football match. It was a demonstration against the government – the biggest in Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.
The figure marching across the stage was Alexei Navalny, a 35-year-old lawyer. Virtually unknown two years ago, in the past six weeks Navalny has become the talisman of a growing movement for change that has put the Kremlin and Russia’s prime minister, Vladimir Putin, on the back foot.
Russians of all backgrounds joined the rally on Sakharov Avenue on 24 December, in protest at the Kremlin “stealing” a parliamentary election for Putin’s United Russia party earlier that month. Some waved placards ridiculing Putin’s comment that ribbons worn by people at a previous protest looked like condoms. They clapped the speakers, including a former MP in a flat cap like an English country gent – but when Navalny stepped up, a frisson of excitement passed through the crowd.
“I’ve been reading this little book,” cried Navalny, who wore jeans, a black coat and a knotted grey scarf. “It’s called the Russian constitution. And it says that the only source of power in Russia is the people. So I don’t want to hear those who say we’re appealing to the authorities. Who’s the power here?” “We are!” the crowd shouted in delight. “Who’s the power?” Navalny repeated. “We are!” (via guardian.co.uk)
Two leaders of Russia’s political opposition were released Wednesday from the Moscow jail where they were held for 15 days for their roles in a protest that set off a wave of protests across the country
Alexei Navalny, a corruption-fighting lawyer and prominent blogger, and Ilya Yashin were arrested the day after the Dec. 4 parliamentary election while leading a protest against vote fraud that allegedly boosted the results for Vladimir Putin’s party.
The Dec. 5 protest unexpectedly drew more than 5,000 people, the biggest opposition rally in years, and helped to energize Russians discontented with Putin’s rule. A protest five days later drew tens of thousands in Moscow, while demonstrations attracting from a few hundred to 1,000 people took place in more than 60 other cities.
Navalny told supporters who waited for his release in the pre-dawn darkness that he “was jailed in one country and freed in another.”
Another nationwide protest is being held Saturday. Navalny, a charismatic speaker, is expected to address the crowd. (via NYTimes.com)
As Internet use in Russia has risen, the approval ratings of Putin and his United Russia Party have fallen. In recent elections, United Russia won barely half of the vote, well below the 64% the party took in 2007.
Journalists and political analysts say Putin has not been able to clamp down on aggressive reporting of his regime on the Internet as he has done with newspapers and television stations in his 11 years in power.
“The Internet is the only place where people can learn about what really goes on in the country: the corruption, the lawlessness and the abuse,” said blogger Anna Arutiunova. “If it wasn’t for the Internet and a handful of opposition print media, we wouldn’t know most of the things we know now.”
Among the most influential bloggers is Alexei Navalny, whose RosPil website has exposed numerous examples of alleged state corruption. It was also Navalny, 35, who coined the now popular, unofficial nickname for United Russia — “The Party of Swindlers and Thieves.”
Since the Dec. 4 election the Internet has been the place to go to see dozens of video clips showing alleged electoral fraud in favor of United Russia at the polls, as well as public protests.
State-controlled broadcasters did not run stories initially on the protests, choosing instead to broadcast images of Putin supporters parading near the Kremlin. Broadcasters did report on a massive demonstration Saturday, but the report was sanitized of anti-Putin signs and chants. But unlike in previous years, Russians could see the events in their raw form through social network sites like Live Journal, where people can post blogs and video. (via USATODAY.com)
Russia: Medvedev’s Twitter Retweets Obscene Jibe Against Opposition
The Twitter blog of Internet-savvy Russian President Dmitry Medvedev retweeted a highly obscene tirade from a well-known supporter and legislator who was attacking critics of the ruling United Russia party.
The Kremlin later blamed the incident on a rogue employee who had access to the account.
The retweet early Wednesday, captured on several readers’ screenshots and by Google before apparently being deleted, alluded to a slogan used by Kremlin whistleblower Alexei Navalny, who called United Russia the “party of crooks and thieves.”
“Today it’s been made clear that if a person writes on a blog the expression ‘the party of crooks and thieves,’ then he is a stupid mule [expletive],” wrote Konstantyn Rykov, an outgoing Duma deputy and renowned Internet personality. Russian’s idiomatic vulgar cant is difficult to translate into English. Rykov omitted a letter in the obscene word and replaced them with “@,” ending the comment with a smiley.
The Kremlin press office had no immediate comment. (via WSJ)
Anti-corruption campaigner and top blogger Alexei Navalny is one of the pivotal figures leading protests and activism to challenge the results of Russia’s 4 December parliamentary elections.
He is also arguably the only major opposition figure to emerge in Russia in the past five years. And he owes his political prominence almost exclusively to his activity as blogger.
Navalny has just been sentenced to 15 days in jail for “obstructing traffic”.
![Russia: Medvedev’s Twitter Retweets Obscene Jibe Against Opposition
The Twitter blog of Internet-savvy Russian President Dmitry Medvedev retweeted a highly obscene tirade from a well-known supporter and legislator who was attacking critics of the ruling United Russia party.
The Kremlin later blamed the incident on a rogue employee who had access to the account.
The retweet early Wednesday, captured on several readers’ screenshots and by Google before apparently being deleted, alluded to a slogan used by Kremlin whistleblower Alexei Navalny, who called United Russia the “party of crooks and thieves.”
“Today it’s been made clear that if a person writes on a blog the expression ‘the party of crooks and thieves,’ then he is a stupid mule [expletive],” wrote Konstantyn Rykov, an outgoing Duma deputy and renowned Internet personality. Russian’s idiomatic vulgar cant is difficult to translate into English. Rykov omitted a letter in the obscene word and replaced them with “@,” ending the comment with a smiley.
The Kremlin press office had no immediate comment. (via WSJ)](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lvwz6tIjWo1qjj3lpo1_400.jpg)
