Paul Goble
Staunton, February 6 – Today, the first Saturday after the two Navalny protests, the authorities in the northern capital closed metro stops, put more police and military equipment on the streets, and searched more residents – even though the Navalny organization said it was not going to have more demonstrations until spring (fontanka.ru/2021/02/06/69752299/).
Such actions, a wide variety of Russian media outlets suggested, only highlighted what Ekho Rossii said bluntly: In Putin’s Russia now, the powers are so afraid of the actions of the population that “people don’t even need to go into the streets” for the authorities to prepare to crack down (ehorussia.com/new/node/22730).
When a government begins to act like that, some in the population may conclude that it is willing to do anything to suppress the people in order to remain in power. But many more are likely to view it as an indication of just how scared the men in the Kremlin now are and make the authorities the object of mirth rather than fear.
If large numbers of Russians draw those conclusions and begin laughing at what those in power are doing, that will be more destructive of the Putin regime’s remaining authority than any repressive actions against real demonstrators. It may even lead some in the Navalny organization to reconsider their plans not to demonstrate for several months.
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