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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