Mikhail Vladimirovich Svetov (born January 4, 1985) is a
Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
politician and public figure, chairman of the civil society movement "Civil Society", political scientist, blogger, one of the main ideologists and popularizers of
libertarianism in Russia, organizer major federal rallies on various political and public topics. Svetov hosts his own
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
channel and an online newspaper both entitled "SVTV".
Biography
Svetov was born in Moscow to medical students. Svetov describes his family as being
classical liberals
Classical liberalism is a political tradition and a branch of liberalism that advocates free market and laissez-faire economics; civil liberties under the rule of law with especial emphasis on individual autonomy, limited government, econo ...
when he was growing up. From the third grade on, he was
homeschooled
Homeschooling or home schooling, also known as home education or elective home education (EHE), is the education of school-aged children at home or a variety of places other than a school. Usually conducted by a parent, tutor, or an onlin ...
by his family, with the exception for one year spent at
Appleby College
Appleby College, a leading Canadian day and boarding school, is an international independent school (grades 7–12) located in Oakville, Ontario, Canada, founded in 1911 by John Guest, a former Headmaster of the Preparatory School at Upper Cana ...
in Canada at the age of 15. In 2004, when he was 19 years old, Svetov almost joined the
National Bolshevik Party
The National Bolshevik Party (NBP; russian: Национал-большевистская партия), also known as the Nazbols (russian: нацболы), operated from 1993 to 2007 as a Russian political party with a political program of Nat ...
.
From 2004 to 2006 Svetov studied at the
Russian State University for the Humanities
The Russian State University for the Humanities (RSUH, RGGU; russian: Росси́йский госуда́рственный гуманита́рный университе́т, РГГУ, translit=Rossijskij gosudarstvennyj gumanitarnyj universit ...
. From there he transferred to the
University of Nottingham
, mottoeng = A city is built on wisdom
, established = 1798 – teacher training college1881 – University College Nottingham1948 – university status
, type = Public
, chancellor ...
and graduated in 2009 with a degree in Political Science. According to his own statement, Svetov is fluent in English, French and Japanese.
In the UK, Svetov began blogging in
LiveJournal
LiveJournal (russian: Живой Журнал), stylised as LiVEJOURNAL, is a Russian-owned social networking service where users can keep a blog, journal, or diary.
American programmer Brad Fitzpatrick started LiveJournal on April 15, 1999, a ...
. The first mention of libertarianism appeared on his blog in 2005 when Svetov was 20 years old. Although, as the politician claims, he has always been an "ardent libertarian." Shortly before leaving for Japan, while in Moscow, Svetov joined the
Libertarian Party
Active parties by country
Defunct parties by country
Organizations associated with Libertarian parties
See also
* Liberal parties by country
* List of libertarian organizations
* Lists of political parties
Lists of political part ...
.
In 2010, Svetov left for Japan where he learned Japanese and also sold souvenirs on the Internet. It was there that Svetov first invested in
Bitcoin, which became the key to his material well-being. In 2011 Svetov was interviewed as an eyewitness by
Russia-1
Russia-1 (russian: Россия-1) is a state-owned Russian television channel, first aired on 14 February 1956 as Programme Two in the Soviet Union. It was relaunched as RTR on 13 May 1991, and is known today as Russia-1. It is the flagship ch ...
about the
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and the subsequent
Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster.
In 2016 he graduated from the
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
Film Academy. A short film, “Jackpot”, was written by Svetov and released in New Zealand, winning first place in the state script competition and received sponsorship for a feature length adaptation. For some time, Svetov worked in the film industry.
Political activity
In 2016, after returning to Russia from Japan, Svetov began his socio-political activities. He helped in the election campaign of Vera Kichanova and Andrei Shalnev. Helped with the organization of the eighth readings of Adam Smith. He organized the visit of Director of the
Cato Institute
The Cato Institute is an American libertarian think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1977 by Ed Crane, Murray Rothbard, and Charles Koch, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Koch Industries.Koch Ind ...
Peter Goetler to read. He organized meetings and helped with the translation of the speeches of foreign guests.
Svetov was the organizer of opposition rallies: “For Free Internet” on August 26, 2017, a rally against the blocking of
Telegram
Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas ...
in Russia on April 30, 2018, a rally against pension reform on July 29, 2018. He initiated a public campaign against the "law of
Klishas" on the “sovereign Internet” and launched a petition against the adoption of this law, which collected 122 thousand signatures. Svetov also became one of the organizers of the rally in defense of the Internet in Moscow on March 10, 2019, and also spoke at it. Similar rallies also took place in
Khabarovsk and
Voronezh
Voronezh ( rus, links=no, Воро́неж, p=vɐˈronʲɪʂ}) is a city and the administrative centre of Voronezh Oblast in southwestern Russia straddling the Voronezh River, located from where it flows into the Don River. The city sits on ...
. After that, the Kremlin’s Telegram channels began to spread an “investigation” about the fact that the real customer of the rally was the video blogger
PewDiePie
Felix Arvid Ulf Kjellberg ( , ; born 24 October 1989), better known as PewDiePie ( ), is a Swedish YouTuber known for his Let's Play videos and comedic formatted videos and shows. Kjellberg's popularity on YouTube and extensive media coverage ...
.
In May 2018, Svetov presented the flag of Russian libertarianism – the
Gadsden snake against the background of the
Russian national tricolor of 1914. According to Svetov’s idea, this flag was to become a universal symbol for all libertarians of Russia, combining the political and philosophical convictions of the supporters of freedom with patriotism and Russian national culture.
From time to time, Svetov acts as the organizer of “Conservative
Anime
is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...
Parties”, where in an informal atmosphere visitors can watch anime, fry burgers, listen to music, discuss politics and listen to a lecture by an invited lecturer.
On January 18, 2018, Svetov debated with
Vladimir Milov on the topic of the presidential campaign of
Alexei Navalny
Alexei Anatolievich Navalny ( rus, links=no, Алексей Анатольевич Навальный, , ɐlʲɪkˈsʲej ɐnɐˈtolʲjɪvʲɪtɕ nɐˈvalʲnɨj; born 4 June 1976) is a Russian opposition leader, lawyer, and anti-corruption act ...
and came out the winner according to the results of the ballot. In August, Svetov met and talked with US Republican Senator
Rand Paul.
After the adviser to the
Ukrainian
Ukrainian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Ukraine
* Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe
* Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine
* So ...
president
Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy, ; russian: Владимир Александрович Зеленский, Vladimir Aleksandrovich Zelenskyy, (born 25 January 1978; also transliterated as Zelensky or Zelenskiy) is a Ukrainian politicia ...
, Ruslan Stefanchuk, stated that the ideology of the "
Servant of the People
Servant of the People (SN; uk, Слуга народу, Sluha narodu, ) is a liberal, centrist, pro-European political party in Ukraine.
It was formed in late 2017 and was officially registered on 31 March 2018 on the basis of the previousl ...
" party was libertarianism, Svetov issued a text questioning the party’s commitment to libertarian values and, at the request of
RTVI, made a small test for understanding libertarianism for Zelenskyy himself.
Svetov acted as the inviting organizer of the lecture of
Hans-Hermann Hoppe
Hans-Hermann Hoppe (; ; born 2 September 1949) is a German-American economist of the Austrian School, philosopher and political theorist. He is Professor Emeritus of Economics at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), Senior Fellow of ...
. The lecture was held on October 6 in Moscow, where Hoppe described the destructive power of democracy, its incompatibility with individual freedom and the natural union between Western conservatism and libertarianism. Svetov also spoke at the event.
Political views
Libertarianism
Svetov calls himself an ideological
anarcho-capitalist
Anarcho-capitalism (or, colloquially, ancap) is an anti-statist, libertarian, and anti-political philosophy and economic theory that seeks to abolish centralized states in favor of stateless societies with systems of private property enfo ...
. He believes that only through
lustration and ensuring the functioning of the free market can corruption and the economic decline of Russia be overcome. In addition, Svetov is a supporter of such ideas as: federalism, freedom of association, ''
laissez-faire
''Laissez-faire'' ( ; from french: laissez faire , ) is an economic system in which transactions between private groups of people are free from any form of economic interventionism (such as subsidies) deriving from special interest groups ...
'', legalization of weapons, drugs and abortion and reducing the role of the state in the life of a child such eliminating juvenile justice and increasing the ability of private foundations to directly help children.
Right conservatism
Svetov identifies himself with
cultural conservatism
Cultural conservatism is described as the protection of the cultural heritage of a nation state, or of a culture not defined by state boundaries. It is usually associated with criticism of multiculturalism, and opposition to immigration. Cultu ...
. He stands for traditional relations and the separation of gender roles in the family. According to Svetov, the family was unjustly scolded by the left, and
third-wave feminism
Third-wave feminism is an iteration of the feminist movement that began in the early 1990s, prominent in the decades prior to the fourth wave. Grounded in the civil-rights advances of the second wave, Gen X and early Gen Y generations third-w ...
which did a disservice to women, making them more miserable. According to Svetov, he would like to live in a homogeneous society somewhere in
Kamchatka
The Kamchatka Peninsula (russian: полуостров Камчатка, Poluostrov Kamchatka, ) is a peninsula in the Russian Far East, with an area of about . The Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Okhotsk make up the peninsula's eastern and west ...
, having acquired a ranch and a large family.
Civic nationalism
Svetov would like Russia to cease to be the multinational state that
Yeltsin
Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin ( rus, Борис Николаевич Ельцин, p=bɐˈrʲis nʲɪkɐˈla(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈjelʲtsɨn, a=Ru-Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin.ogg; 1 February 1931 – 23 April 2007) was a Soviet and Russian politician wh ...
made it, and become a national state according to the principle of Switzerland – “they speak four languages, live four different nations, practice different religions, but at the same time everyone lives in peace and harmony; they are Swiss, and we are Russia”. As a civic nationalist, Svetov is a supporter of building a Russian civil nation and reviving the tradition of Russian identity.
Education
Having been homeschooled himself, Svetov has named
homeschooling "the best thing that ever happened to him in his formative years." He opposes
compulsory education in public schools, seeing them as a threat to each family's right to privacy. Apart from his advocacy for homeschooling and education within a family, he supports
school choice
School choice is a term for education options that allow students and families to select alternatives to public schools.
The most common in the United States, by both the number of programs and by the number of participating students are scho ...
and a
voucher system of funding for primary and secondary education, due to its emphasis on each individual rather than a particular public school entity. Svetov has named the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
and
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
as the two most liberal countries in regards to homeschooling legislation.
Attitude to other political organizations
Svetov criticizes the activities of parties and movements, which he calls pseudo-opposition, such as “
Yabloko
The Russian United Democratic Party Yabloko (RUDP Yabloko) (russian: Росси́йская объединённая демократи́ческая па́ртия «Я́блоко», Rossíyskaya obyedinyónnaya demokratícheskaya pártiya "Y ...
”,
PARNAS,
Left Front,
Democratic Choice,
Party of Growth
Party of Growth (russian: Партия Роста, Partiya Rosta, ) is a liberal-conservative political party in Russia with representatives in several local legislatures. Created in March 2016 on the basis of the Right Cause party, the party's m ...
.
As of 2021, Svetov sees only
Alexei Navalny
Alexei Anatolievich Navalny ( rus, links=no, Алексей Анатольевич Навальный, , ɐlʲɪkˈsʲej ɐnɐˈtolʲjɪvʲɪtɕ nɐˈvalʲnɨj; born 4 June 1976) is a Russian opposition leader, lawyer, and anti-corruption act ...
and the
Anti-Corruption Fund as the only ally in the struggle against government in Russia, but he would be glad to see other sincere opposition forces, regardless of their political orientation.
Incidents
On April 30, 2018, he spoke at a rally in Moscow in support of the Telegram messenger, and called for lustrations. He believes that because of this appeal, some media outlets ("Medusa", "
Rain
Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water ...
" and Znak.com) did not cite his speech and also mention him as the organizer of the rally, as they were preparing for the next “change in the position of the nomenclature”.
On September 20, 2018 in
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
, Svetov was subjected to a failed attempt at an armed attack. During the meeting, one of the members of the LPR regional branch who was present at her, after a short skirmish with Svetov, took out a knife and attempted to attack him. Following the results of the proceedings on this incident, the LPR member who attempted the attack was expelled from the party for violating the Charter. Also, following the results of the proceedings on September 27, 2018, at an extraordinary meeting of the LPR Federal Committee, some representatives of the governing and audit bodies of the Saint Petersburg regional branch were excluded, acquitting the aggressor, accusing Svetov of provoking aggression and convicted of external control of the branch, systematic lying to party members and provoking a split inside branches.
In July 2019, the Ukrainian Mirotvorets website introduced Svetov to the list of people posing a threat to the national security of Ukraine in connection with his trip to the Crimea to his girlfriend
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Svetov, Mikhail
Russian libertarians
Russian bloggers
1985 births
Living people
Anarcho-capitalists
Libertarianism in Russia
Russian YouTubers
Russian politicians
Russian political scientists
Russian activists
Russian State University for the Humanities alumni
Alumni of the University of Nottingham
Russian activists against the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
People listed in Russia as foreign agents