Vitali Shkliarov, Foreign Policy Research Institute: Russia's Opposition Protests: On the Road from Nowhere to Nowhere
The recent Moscow protests have been seen as yet another turning point in anti-Putin oppositional politics. Nearly every individual who lives in the post-Soviet space can’t help but feel a personal connection to this story. Every new issue, every argument or disagreement in the Russian capital catches the attention of almost everyone in the former Soviet bloc countries who still feel deeply connected to Mother Russia. This has a lot to do with the “postcolonial” interest of satellite states in what is happening in the former metropolis and with the fact that every small victory in Moscow seems like another step toward stabilization in the region and democracy in Russia. But, in this case, is it really? Do the recent opposition protests in Russia signal a real change is coming? Or is it just more of the same false hope concealing the fact that pro-democracy efforts in Russia are really just a road to nowhere?
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WNU Editor: One of the best analysis that I have read on Russia's opposition movement. A must read for Russian watchers. As to what is my take on the current wave of protests and the opposition movement. They will not succeed. The Kremlin and its allies are employing the same tactics that Mugabe employed when he ruled Zimbabwe. Keep the opposition off the ballot. Intimidate the leadership. Employ force when it gets out of hand.
