Paul
Goble
Staunton, May 20 – Two understandings
of democracy are clashing in Yekaterinburg and other Russian cities, the
editors of Nezavisimaya gazeta say,
one of which is based on the notion that those in office after elections or
appointment should be able to do whatever they want and the other held by the
middle class that the authorities should consult it on all questions.
That difference, more than anger
about the possible construction of an Orthodox cathedral in a central park,
explains both the energy of the protesters and the opposition of those in power
to this popular challenge, the paper says in an editorial entitled “Not Against
the Church but for the Voice of the Middle Class” (ng.ru/editorial/2019-05-19/2_7576_red.html).
Those in the streets believe that
they have a right to be consulted on all questions all the time and not just
during elections, the editors say; those in government offices think that once
they have been elected or appointed, they have “received carte blanche for any actions within the term of their authorities
and citizens must accept this as the order of things.”
“Such different ideas about the
essence of political representation give rise to conflict situations,” the lead
article continues. “Active citizens and social groups turn to forms of protest
which the powers interpret as illegal.” But the citizens do so only because
they believe that the consultations the authorities have arranged are fake.
According to the paper, “the federal
authorities’ proposal to conduct a survey among the residents of the city about
whether they need an enormous church in the square isn’t satisfying everyone.
The protesters insist on a referendum,” but the powers that be don’t want to conduct
one, fearing what it could lead to.
Their fears, Nezavisimaya gazeta journalist Darya Garmonenko writes in the same
issue of the paper, are based on the fact that the protests in Yekaterinburg
are beginning to be politicized, with various parties seeking to position themselves
to take advantage of the energy of the demonstrators (ng.ru/politics/2019-05-19/3_7576_opposition.html).
While a survey could be conducted
relatively quickly and under the control of the authorities, any referendum
would take longer to hold and give more opportunities for the opposition. It is
for that reason and not because of the greater cost of holding a referendum
than conducting a poll that the powers that be in Yekaterinburg and Moscow are
opposed to it.
But because many won’t accept the
poll as definitive, the protests may continue, potentially proving an even
greater challenge to the powers that be who will then have only two choices, using
massive force to suppress the population or retreating before its demands.
Either of these could produce a situation more revolutionary than the one the powers
now face.
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