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THREAD 1/7 Saturday’s protests were also noticeable for the lack of humorous slogans and placards in comparison with previous Russian protests . The protesters were very serious, even gloomy. From my current piece https://carnegie.ru/commentary/83716
2/7 The slogans lacked the usual appeals to the law, democracy, and the constitution. This protest was not about calling on the authorities to follow the law, count votes fairly, allow candidates to run. It was a march against those in power https://bit.ly/36d6zIm
3/7 Unlike the protests that followed the murder of the opposition politician Boris Nemtsov in 2015, Saturday’s Moscow rally was not dominated by representatives of the capital’s liberal intelligentsia https://bit.ly/36d6zIm
4/7 The Moscow protest this weekend was far less peaceful than all previous events: there were many clashes with riot police, right from the start https://bit.ly/36d6zIm
5/7 A combined imperative of freedom, order, and justice is at least as evident as classical liberal and democratic values. It’s not surprising that such protests frighten not only the regime, but also successful members of society https://bit.ly/36d6zIm
6/7 The authorities preemptively exaggerated the confrontation to justify their harsh reaction. In their version, the security services aren’t just breaking up protests; they’re on the front line, resisting a revolution sponsored by foreign enemies https://bit.ly/36d6zIm
77/ Now the protests’ organizers are trying to make them a regular event as long as Navalny remains in prison. A situation like that in neighboring Belarus is taking shape, in which the opposition can get people out on the streets on a weekly basis https://bit.ly/36d6zIm
