Protests about Local Problems Spreading in Russia But Seldom Attract Much Attention, Nezygar Telegram Channel Says

Paul Goble

            Staunton, Sept. 10 – The amount of public dissatisfaction and number of protests are growing across the Russian Federation, but most of this is about local issues such as the environment and construction and seldom gains the attention either of the national media or political parties, according to the Nezygar telegram channel.

            As a result, many underrate the amount of both dissatisfaction and protests and do not consider these local attitudes and actions as important and thus look only at places where the protest is about some national issue like the war in Ukraine and fail to see that protests are likely to grow, the channel says (t.me/russica2/53657).

            Among the sites of these protests now, Daghestan is the leader and has garnered some attention. But others, including prominently Ulyanov Oblast, Krasnodar Kray, and Leningrad Oblast and slightly lesser actions in Udmurtia, Belgorod, Oryol, Chelyabinsk, and Penza oblasts, Krasnoyarsk Kray, and the republics of Sakha and Mari El have not.

            Because these are generally ignored in the all-Russian media and by politicians, the level of protest potential in the country as a whole is underrated, an especially dangerous mistake as the country heads into the fall when protests usually increase and especially in advance of the upcoming presidential election in 2024.

            Most such protests have little chance of spreading to become all-Russian ones, Nezygar concedes; but there is always the chance that some protest will catch fire either because of  attention or because of the action of one or another political entrepreneur. Consequently, these smaller protests deserve far more attention than they are getting.