Paul Goble
Staunton, Oct. 30 – When Moscow or St. Petersburg do not mark an anniversary, many assume that the rest of Russia follows them. But that often is not the case. This year, many cities and regions outside of the capitals did more to mark the Day of Memory of Political Repressions, the 7x7 news agency says.
The agency which surveys regional developments on a daily basis reports that in some places only a few people gathered while in others many more did and that official responses were equally varied: in some places, the police harassed demonstrators but in others they didn’t (7x7-journal.ru/articles/2021/10/30/samoe-plohoe-chto-mozhet-proizojti-s-politzaklyuchennym-ego-mogut-zabyt-kaeak-v-regionah-proshli-akcii-pamyati-repressirovannyh).
The responses of passersby also varied, with some denouncing those taking part and others expressing encouragement. But the two most important aspects of these events were that they reflected local views and not just what was happening or not in the capitals and that they were so varied.
In sum, Russians across the country on this issue as on so many others are no longer walking in lockstep, and those who seek to understand them and their country need to focus on this diversity rather than assuming commonalities however much the Kremlin and its media try to suggest otherwise.
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