Paul
Goble
Staunton, May 10 – Just as it seems
impossible for the Kremlin to imagine that ordinary Russians could protest on
their own without the direction of “dark forces” from abroad, so too it appears
difficult for its denizens to understand that many young Russians are taking
part because they understand the situation and want change.
According to Snob columnists Tatyana
Krasnova, many Russian teenagers are doing more to learn about their country
than are their parents. She says they are reading Shalamov when their parents
are watching the First Channel and they should be respected for their choices
as a result (snob.ru/selected/entry/137262).
Moreover, according to Ivan Yakovina
of Kyiv’s New times, the regime is radicalizing young people by its actions. According
to him, “they already are not afraid to throw themselves at the police and beat
the OMON officers. This is by the way a very good thing” although it won’t by
itself lead to regime change (nv.ua/opinion/yakovina/moskva-ustala-ot-putina-2468874.html).
But in an indication that the authorities
are frightened and want to prevent more young people from protesting, a group of United Russia deputies has proposed banning
youths from unsanctioned meetings and fining organizers up to 500,000 rubles
for each case or arresting them for up to 15 days (iz.ru/741469/2018-05-10/v-gosdume-predlozhili-nakazyvat-za-privlechenie-podrostkov-k-mitingam).
Given that the party of power
appears behind the measure, it will probably pass and become “the ideal variant
for arbitrary action” by allowing officials to move against any organizer of
any meeting they want to, according to Moscow analyst Dmitry Oreshkin (mbk.media/sences/idealnyj-variant-dlya-proizvola/).
It does seem clear that more young
people are taking part in unsanctioned meetings: In 2017, 475 youths were
arrested at such events throughout Russia; last Saturday alone, 223 were
detained, the MBK news agency reports.
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