Friday, November 9, 2018

Russian Protests Very Different than Many Assume, New Study Shows


Paul Goble

            Staunton, November 9 – A new study by the Moscow Center for Economic and Political Reforms paints a picture of protests in the Russian Federation very different than the one most commentators carry around in their minds. Indeed, these differences are especially critical given that the total number of protests has risen dramatically in recent quarters.

            The 18-page study, available online at cepr.su/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Протесты-в-РФ-всероссийский-мониторинг.pdf, confirms some of what people believe: protests have risen significantly over the last two years and are continuing to increase quarter by quarter, and St. Petersburg is the region with the most protests while Chechnya has the least.

            But four of its findings are likely to be a surprise to many:

·         In more than 80 percent of the cases, the protests had been approved in advance by the authorities.

·         Fewer than half of all protests (46 percent) in the last year were about the unpopular pension reform.

·         Nearly two-thirds of all protests in the regions took place in regional capitals but many occurred in places with fewer than 5,000 residents.

·         And the KPRF led 36 percent of all protests while Aleksey Navalny’s organization led only 13 percent. 

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