Unrest in Russia is nothing new; the country has been a hotspot for disagreements for as long as anyone can recall. Vladimir Putin, the current President of Russia, has been a major contester of much of the problems Russia faces as of late. Despite no longer being the man in charge, Putin still holds a tremendous amount of power over the people of Russia. Protests in Russia have been scarce and few-and-far-between because of the fear of autocracy.
That is until Alexei Navalny came along and threatened Putin’s reign of tyranny. Navalny is an opposition leader against Putin in Russia and has just returned to Russia much to Putin’s chagrin to challenge the president once more. Navalny has returned in spite of the fact that in August of 2020, Putin had made a near-successful attempt to assassinate the younger man via poisoning. This action paired with the several videos Navalny has put out on YouTube mocking the president and exposing his illegal actions to remain in power was seen as an act of defiance.
However, it was only construed as defiance to Putin and his followers; to so many more in Russia the political opposition leader who is currently serving jail-time is seen as someone to admire. In sharp contrast to Putin, Alexei Navalny has “a mordant sarcasm toward the country’s leaders” combined with “great personal bravery.” To come back to a country in which he was almost killed by its leader to continue fighting for his beliefs and the people of Russia is nothing if not brave, as The Post suggests.
Russian citizens who are tired of living under Putin’s oppressive shadow are beginning to imitate Navalny’s bravery; amongst the below-freezing streets of every corner of Russia from Siberia to Moscow and St. Petersburg, tens of thousands of Russians gathered to protest against Putin’s long, arduous occupation, demanding it was time for change. It is clear that Alexei Navalny’s ideas paired with his treatment from Putin and the Russian government are driving these protests forward.
This is one of the largest dissents that Russia has seen in a very long time. The protests were not only against Navalny’s having been thrown into jail immediately upon arriving back in his home country but against Putin and his regime as a whole. Those who had never even dared to speak out before for fear of arrest or something worse have joined the ranks of protestors, signaling something even greater upon the horizon.
While Navalny is not perfect in any sense of the word, as goes for all people, let alone politicians, if he were elected to office he would present the country with a long-awaited change to the way things are done. These protests also highlight just how long Russians have been growing restless under the stagnant rule of their President, and how desperate they are to enact change at any cost. Over 3,100 people have been arrested at the time of writing, including Navalny’s wife, Yula, who was so bold as to document her arrest on Instagram.
Other countries are showing their support, as well; among those are the United States and the United Kingdom, both of whom have had notoriously rocky relationships with Russia in the past and in recent years. The Biden administration along with the entirety of the European Union has spoken out against Putin’s actions, calling for Alexei Navalny to be released from jail immediately and to be granted safety.
At the time of writing, Putin has so far made no actions to release Navalny from jail or to quell the uprisings that are still ongoing. The protests on Jan. 23, may have borne the brunt of the consequences, but by no means were those the first or last of their kind.
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