The 2011–2013 Russian protests, which some English language media referred to as the Snow Revolution, began in 2011 (as protests against the 2011 Russian legislative election results) and continued into 2012 and 2013. The protests were motivated by claims by Russian and foreign journalists, political activists and members of the public that the election process was fraudulent. The

Central Election Commission of Russia Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

stated that only 11.5% of official reports of fraud could be confirmed as true. On 10 December 2011, after a week of small-scale demonstrations, Russia saw some of the biggest protests in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

since the 1990s. The focus of the protests have been the ruling party,

United Russia United Russia ( rus, Единая Россия, Yedinaya Rossiya, (j)ɪˈdʲinəjə rɐˈsʲijə) is a Conservatism in Russia, Russian conservative List of political parties in Russia, political party. As the largest party in Russia, it hold ...

, and its leader

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

, the current president, previous prime minister, and previous two-term president, who announced his intention to run again for President in 2012. Another round of large protests took place on 24 December 2011. These protests were named "For Fair Elections" () and their organizers set up the movement of the same name. By this time, the "For Fair Elections" protesters had coalesced into five main points: freedom for

political prisoners A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention. There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although nu ...

; annulment of the election results; the resignation of

Vladimir Churov Vladimir Yevgenyevich Churov (russian: Владимир Евгеньевич Чуров; born March 27, 1953, in Leningrad, Soviet Union) is a Russian official and politician. From March 2007 to March 2016, he served a member (delegated by the S ...

(head of the election commission) and the opening of an official investigation into vote fraud; registration of opposition parties and new democratic legislation on parties and elections, as well as new democratic and open elections. Initial protest actions, organized by the leaders of the

Russian opposition Opposition to the government of President Vladimir Putin in Russia can be divided between the parliamentary opposition parties in the State Duma and the various non-systemic opposition organizations. While the former are largely viewed as bei ...

parties and non-systemic opposition sparked fear in some quarters of a

colour revolution Colour revolution (sometimes coloured revolution) is a term used since around 2004 by worldwide media to describe various anti-regime protest movements and accompanying (attempted or successful) changes of government that took place in post ...

in Russia, and a number of counter-protests and rallies in support of the government were held. On the first days following the election, Putin and United Russia were supported by rallies of two youth organizations, the government-organized Nashi and United Russia's Young Guard. On 24 December

Sergey Kurginyan Sergey Yervandovich Kurginyan (russian: Сергей Ервандович Кургинян) is a Russian politician, scientist, and theatre producer. He is the founder and leader of the Russian ultraconservative movement Essence of Time. Bio ...

organised the first protest against what was viewed as "orange" protesters in Moscow, though the protest also went under the same slogan "For Fair Elections". On 4 February 2012, more protests and pro-government rallies were held throughout the country. The largest two events were in Moscow: the "anti-Orange protest" (alluding to the

Orange Revolution The Orange Revolution ( uk, Помаранчева революція, translit=Pomarancheva revoliutsiia) was a series of protests and political events that took place in Ukraine from late November 2004 to January 2005, in the immediate afterm ...

in Ukraine, the most widely known color revolution to Russians), aimed against "orangism", "collapse of the country", "

perestroika ''Perestroika'' (; russian: links=no, перестройка, p=pʲɪrʲɪˈstrojkə, a=ru-perestroika.ogg) was a political movement for reform within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) during the late 1980s widely associated wit ...

" and "revolution", the largest protest action of all the protests so far according to the police; and another "For Fair Elections" protest, larger than the previous ones according to the police. On 6 May 2012, protests took place in Moscow the day before Putin's inauguration as President for his third term. Some called for the inauguration to be scrapped. The protests were marred by violence between the protesters and the police. About 400 protesters were arrested, including

Alexei Navalny Alexei Anatolievich Navalny ( rus, links=no, Алексей Анатольевич Навальный, , ɐlʲɪkˈsʲej ɐnɐˈtolʲjɪvʲɪtɕ nɐˈvalʲnɨj; born 4 June 1976) is a Opposition to Vladimir Putin in Russia, Russian opposition ...

Boris Nemtsov Boris Yefimovich Nemtsov ( rus, Бори́с Ефи́мович Немцо́в, p=bɐˈrʲis jɪˈfʲiməvʲɪtɕ nʲɪmˈtsof; 9 October 195927 February 2015) was a Russian physicist and liberal politician. He was involved in the introduction ...

and

Sergei Udaltsov Sergei Stanislavovich Udaltsov (russian: Серге́й Станиславович Удальцов; born 16 February 1977) is a Russian left-wing political activist. He is the unofficial leader of the Vanguard of Red Youth (AKM). In 2011 and 2 ...

and 80 were injured. On the day of the inauguration, 7 May, at least 120 protesters were arrested in Moscow. In June 2012, laws were enacted which set strict boundaries on protests and imposed heavy penalties for unauthorized actions. As of January 2013, interviews by Ellen Barry of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' of working class elements which had supported the protests revealed an atmosphere of intimidation, discouragement, and alienation.

Background

Previous protest rallies in 2000s

In the 2000s, due to increased restrictions in the election legislation and the takeover of large media under state control, a

non-system opposition In modern Russian political terminology, the non-system opposition or non-systemic opposition (russian: внесистемная оппозиция) are oppositional forces which operate outside of the official political establishment. Alternative ...

emerged, which was barred from participation in elections. This time, it included both left and right organisations as well as nationalists. The largest protests and main opposition events include rallies to support the old

NTV NTV may refer to: Television * NTV (Bangladesh), a Bengali-language satellite television channel in Bangladesh * NTV (India), Telugu regional channel * NTV (Kenya) * NTV (Mongolia), a television channel based in Mongolia * NTV (Newport Televis ...

staff (2001), mass protests against

Mikhail Zurabov Mikhail Yuryevich Zurabov (russian: Михаил Юрьевич Зурабов, ) is a Russian politician. He was the ambassador of Russia to Ukraine

reforms Reform ( lat, reformo) means the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The use of the word in this way emerges in the late 18th century and is believed to originate from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement ...

(2005),

Dissenters' March The Dissenters' March (russian: Марш несогласных) was a series of Russian opposition protests that took place on December 16, 2006 in Moscow, on March 3, 2007 in Saint Petersburg, on March 24 in Nizhny Novgorod, on April 14 for t ...

(2005–2008), Russian Marches, "I am free! I forgot what it means to fear" rallies for freedom of the press (2005–2006 and 2008),

Vladivostok Vladivostok ( rus, Владивосто́к, a=Владивосток.ogg, p=vɫədʲɪvɐˈstok) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai, Russia. The city is located around the Zolotoy Rog, Golden Horn Bay on the Sea ...

mass protests (2008–2010),

Kaliningrad Kaliningrad ( ; rus, Калининград, p=kəlʲɪnʲɪnˈɡrat, links=y), until 1946 known as Königsberg (; rus, Кёнигсберг, Kyonigsberg, ˈkʲɵnʲɪɡzbɛrk; rus, Короле́вец, Korolevets), is the largest city and ...

mass protests (2009–2010), Day of Wrath (Left Front actions) (2009–2011), Putin.Results and Putin.Corruption campaign,

Putin must go "Putin Must Go" () is a Russian website and public campaign organised for the collection of signatures to an open letter demanding the resignation of President of Russia, President (formerly Prime Minister of Russia, Prime Minister) Vladimir Put ...

campaign, Strategy-31 (for freedom of assembly) (2009–), etc.

Committee 2008 "Committee 2008: A Free Choice" (russian: Комитет 2008: Свободный выбор; ''Komitet 2008: Svobodnyy vybor'') was an umbrella organization of the Russian democratic opposition, launched on 29 January 2004 and broke up in the spri ...

, wide coalition The Other Russia,

Yabloko The Russian United Democratic Party Yabloko (RUDP Yabloko) (russian: Росси́йская объединённая демократи́ческая па́ртия «Я́блоко», Rossíyskaya obyedinyónnaya demokratícheskaya pártiya "Y ...

Union of Right Forces )"Liberty, Property, Legality"(russian: "Свобода, Собственность, Законность") , headquarters = Moscow , newspaper = Just Cause , membership_year = 2007 , membership = 57,410 , ideology ...

Vanguard of Red Youth The Vanguard of Red Youth (AKM; russian: Авангард красной молодёжи; ''Avangard krasnoy molodyozhi''), acronymed after an AK-47 variant) is a radical Russian socialist youth group. Its website describes it as an "independ ...

, Left Front,

Russian People's Democratic Union The Russian People's Democratic Union (RNDS; russian: Российский народно-демократический союз; РНДС; ''Rossiyskiy narodno-demokraticheskiy soyuz'', ''RNDS''), initially named as People for Democracy and Jus ...

United Civil Front United Civil Front (UCF; russian: Объединённый гражданский фронт; ОГФ; ''Obyedinonnyy grazhdanskiy front'', ''OGF'') is a social movement in Russia founded and led by chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov. In 2006–20 ...

, movement for Khimki forest,

Solidarnost United Democratic Movement "Solidarnost" (russian: Объединённое демократическое движение «Солидарность»; ОДД «Солидарность»; ''Obyedinonnoye demokraticheskoye dvizheniye «Solidarno ...

TIGER The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus '' Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on u ...

Society of Blue Buckets The Society of Blue Buckets (russian: Общество синих ведёрок ''Obshchestvo sinikh vedyorok'') is a free protest movement that emerged in Russia in 2010 as a response to the arbitrary, self-serving use of emergency rotating bl ...

, Coalition "For Russia without Lawlessness and Corruption", etc. were among the main opposition groups within disorganized 2000s protest movement.

2011 election

According to

RIA Novosti RIA Novosti (russian: РИА Новости), sometimes referred to as RIAN () or RIA (russian: РИА, label=none) is a Russian state-owned domestic news agency. On 9 December 2013 by a decree of Vladimir Putin it was liquidated and its asse ...

, there were more than 1,100 official reports of election irregularities across the country, including allegations of

vote fraud Electoral fraud, sometimes referred to as election manipulation, voter fraud or vote rigging, involves illegal interference with the process of an election, either by increasing the vote share of a favored candidate, depressing the vote share of ...

, obstruction of observers and illegal campaigning. Members of the

A Just Russia A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes'' ...

and

Communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

parties reported that voters were shuttled between multiple polling stations to cast several ballots. The Yabloko and

LDPR LDPR — Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (russian: ЛДПР — Либерально-демократическая партия России, LDPR — Liberal'no-demokraticheskaya partiya Rossii) is a right-wing populist and ultranationalist p ...

parties reported that some of their observers had been banned from witnessing the sealing of the ballot boxes and from gathering video footage, and some were groundlessly expelled from polling stations. The ruling

party alleged that the opposition parties had engaged in illegal campaigning by distributing leaflets and newspapers at polling stations and that at some polling stations the voters had been ordered to vote for the Communist party with threats of violence. There were several reports of almost undetectable vote fraud—swapping of final polling station protocols just before final accounting by station chairmen—that happened late at night when most observers were gone. The Central Electoral Commission issued a report on 3 February 2012, in which it said that it received the total of 1686 reports on irregularities, of which only 195 (11.5%) were upheld after investigation. A third (584) actually contained questions about the unclear points of electoral law, and only 60 complaints were claiming falsifications of the elections results. On 4 February 2012 the Investigation Committee of the

Office of the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation The Prosecutor General of Russia (also Attorney General of Russia, russian: Генеральный прокурор Российской Федерации, Generalʹnyy prokuror Rossiyskoy Federatsii) heads the system of official prosecution i ...

announced that the majority of videos allegedly showing falsifications at polling stations were in fact falsified and originally distributed from a single server in California, and the investigation on that started. Despite the official findings, protests carried on up to and beyond 4 March presidential election.

Demographic and economic basis

According to ''

'', the leading element has consisted of young urban professionals, the well-educated and successful working or middle-class people such as workers in social media. These groups had benefited from substantial growth in the Russian economy until the 2008 economic crisis but have been alienated by increasing political corruption as well as recent stagnation in their income. The number of such individuals is large and growing in urban centers and is thought to represent a challenge to continuation of authoritarian rule. According to Putin the legitimate grievances of this young and active element of Russian society are being exploited by opportunistic elements which seek to destabilize Russia.

Nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

elements play a significant role in the coalition which is organizing and participating in the protests.

Protests against government

4 December 2011

On 4 November 2011, during the annual Russian March event, representatives of " The Russians" movement declared a protest action planned for election day after polling districts closed. As there was no official rally permit, the action by "The Russians" was unapproved and took place on 4 December at 21:00 in Moscow. The statement of non-recognition of electoral results spread widely. Сitizens were called upon to create self-governing institutions reflecting national interests and were told of falsifications and frauds said to have occurred during the elections. Alexander Belov declared the beginning of the "Putin, go away!" campaign. The protest action, in which several hundreds persons participated, led to running battles with riot police. Leaders of "The Russians"

Alexander Belov Alexander Alexandrovich Belov, commonly known as Sasha Belov (November 9, 1951 – October 3, 1978), was a Soviet basketball player. During his playing career, he played at the center position. Belov is most remembered for scoring the game- ...

Dmitry Dyomushkin Dmitry Nikolayevich Demushkin (russian: Дмитрий Николаевич Дёмушкин; born 7 May 1979) is a Russian nationalist activist, politician and public figure. He founded the neo-Nazi organization "Slavic Union" in 1999, which wa ...

, George Borovikov were arrested along with dozens of other nationalists. The head of the banned

Movement Against Illegal Immigration The Movement Against Illegal Immigration (DPNI; russian: Движение против нелегальной иммиграции; ДПНИ; ''Dvizheniye protiv nelegalnoy immigratsii'', ''DPNI'') was a Russian far-right, nationalist and racist ...

organization

Vladimir Yermolaev Vladimir Grigoryevich Yermolaev (; 29 August 1909 31 December 1944) was a Soviet Union, Soviet aircraft designer, general-major of the aviation engineering service. He graduated from the Moscow State University in 1931. Yermolaev was a leading e ...

was detained at a voting station where he was an observer. Mass detentions of other public organizations occurred in Moscow. According to police some 258 persons have been detained.

5–7 December 2011

On 5 December, around 5,000 opponents of the government began protesting in Moscow, denouncing

and his government and what they believed were flawed elections. Campaigners argued that the elections had been a sham and demanded that Putin step down, whilst some demanded revolution.

Alexey 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 ...

, a top blogger and anti-corruption activist who branded Putin's United Russia party as the "

party of crooks and thieves ''Party of crooks and thieves'' (russian: Партия жуликов и воров – ''Partiya zhulikov i vorov'', abbr. russian: ПЖиВ – ''PZhiV'') is an expression widely circulating among opposition in Russia which is used to refer t ...

", is credited with initial mobilization of

mass protest A political demonstration is an action by a mass group or collection of groups of people in favor of a political or other cause or people partaking in a protest against a cause of concern; it often consists of walking in a mass march formati ...

s through postings on his

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, as ...

blog and

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

account. Navalny's agitation was denounced by United Russia as "typical dirty self-promotion" and a profane tweet describing Navalny as a sheep engaged in

oral sex Oral sex, sometimes referred to as oral intercourse, is sexual activity involving the stimulation of the genitalia of a person by another person using the mouth (including the lips, tongue, or teeth) and the throat. Cunnilingus is oral sex per ...

originated from Medvedev's Twitter account. Many pro-government supporters, including the pro-Putin youth group Nashi, were mobilized on 6 December at the site of the planned demonstration where they made noise in support of the government and

. There was a 15,000-strong rally of Nashi on Manezhnaya Square and an 8,000-strong rally of the Young Guard on Revolution Square. About 500 pro-United Russia activists marched near

Red Square Red Square ( rus, Красная площадь, Krasnaya ploshchad', ˈkrasnəjə ˈploɕːətʲ) is one of the oldest and largest squares in Moscow, the capital of Russia. Owing to its historical significance and the adjacent historical build ...

. Truckloads of soldiers and police, as well as a water cannon, were deployed ahead of expected anti-government protests. It emerged that 300 protesters had been arrested in Moscow the night before, along with 120 in

St. 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 ...

. During the night of 6 December, at least 600 protesters were reported to be in Triumphalnaya square chanting slogans against Putin, whilst anti-government protesters at Revolution Square clashed with riot police and interior ministry troops. The police chased around 100 away, arresting some. Protest numbers later reportedly reached over 1,000 at Triumphalnaya Square and dozens of arrests were reported, including

, an opposition leader and former deputy prime minister, and Alexey Navalny. Over 250 arrests were made, with police using buses to transport the suspects to police stations to be charged. At least one Russian journalist claimed he was beaten by police officers who stamped on him and hit his legs with batons. Another 200 arrests were reported in St. Petersburg and 25 in

Rostov Rostov ( rus, Росто́в, p=rɐˈstof) is a town in Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, one of the oldest in the country and a tourist center of the Golden Ring. It is located on the shores of Lake Nero, northeast of Moscow. Population: While t ...

the same night as anti-government demonstrations took place. After three and a half hours, the Moscow protest came to an end. Attempts to stage a large protest in Moscow on 7 December fizzled out due to a large police presence in the city.

10 December 2011

Via a Facebook group "Суббота на Болотной площади" (Saturday at Bolotnaya Square), a call was made for a

against the government on Saturday 10 December. Prior to the demonstration newspapers commented that tens of thousands of Facebook users had positively responded to invitations to demonstrate in Moscow, and, similarly, over 5,000 in St. Petersburg. A permit had originally been issued to the group

for a legal demonstration of 300 people in Revolution Square. By 8 December, more than 30,000 had accepted the Facebook invitation to attend. After negotiations with the demonstrators an alternative location for a 30,000-person demonstration was authorized by the Moscow government for the demonstration which took place on 10 December on

Bolotnaya Square Bolotnaya Square (russian: Болотная площадь, ''Bolotnaya ploshchad'') is a square in the center of Moscow, in Yakimanka District, south of the Moscow Kremlin, between the Moskva River (north) and the Vodootvodny Canal (south). Th ...

. Prior to the demonstration, threats were made by Putin that police and security forces would be deployed to deal with anyone participating in illegal protests in Moscow or other cities; however, the event, when it took place, was peaceful and without attempts by the state to prevent or disrupt it. Rapper

Noize MC Ivan Aleksandrovich Alekseyev (russian: link=no, Иван Александрович Алексеев; born 9 March 1985), known professionally as Noize MC, is a Russian rapper, singer, and actor. Biography Birth, early work (1985–2002) Aleks ...

and author

Boris Akunin Boris Akunin (russian: Борис Акунин) is the pen name of Grigori Chkhartishvili (russian: Григорий Шалвович Чхартишвили, Grigory Shalvovich Chkhartishvili; ka, გრიგორი ჩხარტიშვ� ...

both agreed to address the crowds, the latter flying in specially from Paris for the occasion.

Guerrilla theater Guerrilla theatre, generally rendered "guerrilla theater" in the US, is a form of guerrilla communication originated in 1965 by the San Francisco Mime Troupe, who, in spirit of the Che Guevara writings from which the term '' guerrilla'' is taken, e ...

by FEMEN and the circulation of a photoshopped image of Putin dressed as

Muammar Gaddafi Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi, . Due to the lack of standardization of transcribing written and regionally pronounced Arabic, Gaddafi's name has been romanized in various ways. A 1986 column by ''The Straight Dope'' lists 32 spellin ...

accompanied the protests. Attempts to disrupt the protests and the organizations supporting them included repeated

prank call A prank call (also known as a crank call) is a telephone call intended by the caller as a practical joke played on the person answering. It is often a type of nuisance call. It can be illegal under certain circumstances. Recordings of prank ph ...

s to

and

Novaya Gazeta ''Novaya Gazeta'' ( rus, Новая газета, t=New Gazette, p=ˈnovəjə ɡɐˈzʲetə) is an independent Russian newspaper known for its critical and investigative coverage of Russian political and social affairs. It is published in Mo ...

. Russia's chief public health official,

Gennady Onishchenko Gennadiy Grigoryevich Onishchenko (russian: Геннадий Григорьевич Онищенко, born 20 November 1950) is a Russian government official who was the Chief Sanitary Inspector of Russia from 1996 to 2013. Early life Gennad ...

, warned on Friday that protesters risked respiratory infections such as the

flu Influenza, commonly known as "the flu", is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These symptom ...

SARS Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a viral respiratory disease of zoonotic origin caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV or SARS-CoV-1), the first identified strain of the SARS coronavirus species, ''sever ...

. Warnings were issued that the police would be looking for draft dodgers at the protests. Students in Moscow were ordered to report Saturday during the time scheduled for the demonstration to an exam followed by a special class conducted by headmasters regarding "rules of safe behavior in the city." Opposition Twitter posts were spammed by a

botnet A botnet is a group of Internet-connected devices, each of which runs one or more bots. Botnets can be used to perform Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks, steal data, send spam, and allow the attacker to access the device and its conn ...

and a YouTube video, Москва! Болотная площадь! 10 Декабря! (Moscow! Bolotnaya square! 10 December!), was posted of

orc An Orc (or Ork) is a fictional humanoid monster like a goblin. Orcs were brought into modern usage by the fantasy writings of J. R. R. Tolkien, especially '' The Lord of the Rings''. In Tolkien's works, Orcs are a brutish, aggressive, ugl ...

s storming a castle shouting, "Russia without Putin." The Telegraph reported at 10:40 GMT that "Half an hour into what is likely to be Moscow's biggest demonstration since the fall of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

, Russia's biggest state-controlled television station, Channel One, has no mention of the popular unrest on its website." Journalist

Andrew Osborn Andrew Osborn (born 10 October 1972) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with the South Adelaide Football Club in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL). After beginning his football with local club Reynella, Andr ...

noted a bad 3G telephone signal in Bolotnaya Square, asking "Wonder if they have deliberately shut off in protest area ". The Guardian also reported that mobile internet had been "cut off" in the square. The Moscow demonstration was generally peaceful ending in the afternoon with the singing of

Viktor Tsoi Viktor Robertovich Tsoi (russian: Виктор Робертович Цой; ; 21 June 1962 – 15 August 1990) was a Soviet singer and songwriter who co-founded Kino, one of the most popular and musically influential bands in the history of ...

's song "Peremen" meaning "Changes", a perestroika anthem from the 1980s. Reports of the demonstration including its large size and demands for new elections were carried on the evening news in Russia by state controlled media. Police in Moscow estimated the protest numbers to be around 25,000, whilst the opposition claimed over 50,000 people were present during the demonstration. Other activists claimed as many as 60,000 protesters in Bolotnaya Square, Moscow.

Demands

While particular demands were not apparent in the first few days of the protests, by 10 December they had coallesced into five main points: # Freedom for

# Annulment of the election results # The resignation of

, head of the election commission, and an official investigation of vote fraud # Registration of the opposition parties and new democratic legislation on parties and elections # New democratic and open elections

Speakers on Bolotnaya Square

Various politicians and celebrities addressed the crowd, including: *

, writer *

Yevgenia Albats Yevgenia Markovna Albats (russian: Евге́ния Ма́рковна Альба́ц, born 5 September 1958The New Times'' magazine *

Dmitrii Bykov Dmitry Lvovich Bykov ( rus, links=no, Дмитрий Львович Быков, p=ˈdmʲitrʲɪj ˈlʲvovʲɪdʑ ˈbɨkəf, a=Dmitriy L'vovich Bykov.ru.vorb.oga; born 20 December 1967) is a Russian writer, poet, literary critic and journalist.< ...

, writer *

Yevgeniya Chirikova Yevgeniya Sergeyevna Chirikova ( rus, Евге́ния Серге́евна Чи́рикова: born 12 November 1976 in Moscow) is a Russian environmental activist, primarily known for opposing the building of a motorway through Khimki Forest nea ...

, politician, ecologist, opposition supporter *

Mikhail Delyagin Mikhail Gennadyevich Delyagin (russian: Михаи́л Генна́дьевич Деля́гин; ; born 16 March 1968) is a modern Russian author, politician, and economist. A member of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, Delyagin took par ...

, politician, former chairman of the Rodina party *

Gennady Gudkov Gennady Vladimirovich Gudkov (russian: Генна́дий Влади́мирович Гудко́в; born 15 August 1956, Kolomna) is a Russian politician and businessman. ''The Moscow Times'' described him in 2012 as "one of parliament's most voc ...

, politician,

party *

Oleg Kashin Oleg Vladimirovich Kashin (russian: Оле́г Влади́мирович Ка́шин; born 17 June 1980) is a Russian journalist and writer known for his political articles. Early life Oleg Vladimirovich Kashin was born 17 June 1980 in Ka ...

, journalist *

Mikhail Kasyanov Mikhail Mikhailovich Kasyanov ( rus, link=no, Михаи́л Миха́йлович Касья́нов, , mʲɪxɐˈil mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪtɕ kɐˈsʲjanəf; born 8 December 1957) is a Russian politician who served as Prime Minister of Russia fr ...

, politician, The Other Russia opposition coalition * Yevgeny Kopyshev, Union of Soviet Officers,

Communist Party of the Russian Federation , anthem = , seats1_title = Seats in the State Duma , seats1 = , seats2_title = Seats in the Federation Council , seats2 = , seats3_title = Governors , seats3 = , seats4_title ...

called for restoration of Soviet power but was booed off the stage. * Konstantin Krylov, politician, head of the nationalist

Russian Social Movement 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 ...

Eduard Limonov Eduard Veniaminovich Savenko ( rus, Эдуард Вениаминович Савенко, , ɨdʊˈart vʲɪnʲɪɐˈmʲinəvʲɪtɕ sɐˈvʲenkə, links=yes; 22 February 1943 – 17 March 2020), known by his pen name Eduard Limonov ( rus, Эд ...

, writer and politician, head of 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 ...

(demonstrated and spoke first at the Revolution Square) * Sergey Mitrokhin, politician, head of the

party *

, politician, The Other Russia *

, rapper, opposition activist * Oleg Orlov, human rights activist, chairman of the civil rights society "

Memorial A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects or works of a ...

" *

Dmitry Oreshkin Dmitry Borisovich Oreshkin (russian: Дмитрий Борисович Орешкин; born 27 June 1953 in Moscow) is a Soviet and Russian Political science, political scientist. He graduated from special school No. 49 in Moscow in 1970, the Fa ...

, politologist, supported the

Leonid Parfyonov Leonid Gennadyevich Parfyonov (russian: Леонид Геннадьевич Парфёнов, born January 26, 1960, in Cherepovets, Vologda Oblast) is a Russian journalist, news presenter, TV producer and author of many documentary TV shows. Par ...

, former news anchor, former chief editor of the Russian edition of ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...

'' *

Grigory Yavlinsky Grigory Alekseyevich Yavlinsky ( Russian: Григо́рий Алексе́евич Явли́нский; born 10 April 1952) is a Russian economist and politician. He authored the 500 Days Program, a plan for the transition of the Soviet regim ...

, politician, founder and former head of the

party

Other cities

Like in Moscow, protests were planned to take place in

and

, as well as 88 other towns and cities in Russia. Smaller protests were reported in

Tomsk Tomsk ( rus, Томск, p=tomsk, sty, Түң-тора) is a city and the administrative center of Tomsk Oblast in Russia, located on the Tom River. Population: Founded in 1604, Tomsk is one of the oldest cities in Siberia. The city is a not ...

Omsk Omsk (; rus, Омск, p=omsk) is the administrative center and largest city of Omsk Oblast, Russia. It is situated in southwestern Siberia, and has a population of over 1.1 million. Omsk is the third largest city in Siberia after Novosibirsk ...

Arkhangelsk Arkhangelsk (, ; rus, Арха́нгельск, p=ɐrˈxanɡʲɪlʲsk), also known in English as Archangel and Archangelsk, is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It lies o ...

Murmansk Murmansk (Russian: ''Мурманск'' lit. "Norwegian coast"; Finnish: ''Murmansk'', sometimes ''Muurmanski'', previously ''Muurmanni''; Norwegian: ''Norskekysten;'' Northern Sámi: ''Murmánska;'' Kildin Sámi: ''Мурман ланнҍ'') i ...

Yekaterinburg Yekaterinburg ( ; rus, Екатеринбург, p=jɪkətʲɪrʲɪnˈburk), alternatively romanized as Ekaterinburg and formerly known as Sverdlovsk ( rus, Свердло́вск, , svʲɪrˈdlofsk, 1924–1991), is a city and the administra ...

Novosibirsk Novosibirsk (, also ; rus, Новосиби́рск, p=nəvəsʲɪˈbʲirsk, a=ru-Новосибирск.ogg) is the largest city and administrative centre of Novosibirsk Oblast and Siberian Federal District in Russia. As of the Russian Census ...

Krasnoyarsk Krasnoyarsk ( ; rus, Красноя́рск, a=Ru-Красноярск2.ogg, p=krəsnɐˈjarsk) (in semantic translation - Red Ravine City) is the largest city and administrative center of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. It is situated along the Yeni ...

Kurgan A kurgan is a type of tumulus constructed over a grave, often characterized by containing a single human body along with grave vessels, weapons and horses. Originally in use on the Pontic–Caspian steppe, kurgans spread into much of Central Asi ...

Perm Perm or PERM may refer to: Places *Perm, Russia, a city in Russia ** Permsky District, the district **Perm Krai, a federal subject of Russia since 2005 **Perm Oblast, a former federal subject of Russia 1938–2005 **Perm Governorate, an administra ...

Karelia Karelia ( Karelian and fi, Karjala, ; rus, Каре́лия, links=y, r=Karélija, p=kɐˈrʲelʲɪjə, historically ''Korjela''; sv, Karelen), the land of the Karelian people, is an area in Northern Europe of historical significance for ...

Khabarovsk Khabarovsk ( rus, Хабaровск, a=Хабаровск.ogg, r=Habárovsk, p=xɐˈbarəfsk) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative centre of Khabarovsk Krai, Russia,Law #109 located from the China ...

Kazan Kazan ( ; rus, Казань, p=kɐˈzanʲ; tt-Cyrl, Казан, ''Qazan'', IPA: ɑzan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka rivers, covering a ...

and

Nizhny Novgorod Nizhny Novgorod ( ; rus, links=no, Нижний Новгород, a=Ru-Nizhny Novgorod.ogg, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj ˈnovɡərət ), colloquially shortened to Nizhny, from the 13th to the 17th century Novgorod of the Lower Land, formerly known as Gork ...

. At least 10,000 protesters turned out in St. Petersburg, 3,000 in Novosibirsk, whilst 4,000 others rallied in Yekaterinburg. At least 1,000 people rallied in the port city of Vladivostok on Russia's Pacific coast. "Sympathy protests" are also being held abroad. In London, the former parliamentary aide accused of being a Russian spy

Katia Zatuliveter Michael Thomas Hancock (born 9 July 1946) is a British politician. He was most recently an independent (politician), independent Member of Parliament (MP) for Portsmouth South (UK Parliament constituency), Portsmouth South. Hancock formally re ...

turned up holding a banner saying: "Russian vote 146 per cent fair". Some sources report only 100 arrests nationwide on 10 December due to the protests, mostly outside Moscow, which is a significantly smaller number than previous protests. In Kazan, however, at least 100 protesters, mainly in their early 20s, were detained for failure to disperse.

17–18 December 2011

Yabloko party meeting 1, Moscow, 2011-12-17

On 17 December another meeting was held at

in Moscow against the election fraud. The rally was organized by

but members of other political parties participated as well. Among the speakers were

and Sergey Mitrokhin from Yabloko and

Vladimir Ryzhkov Vladimir Aleksandrovich Ryzhkov (russian: Влади́мир Алекса́ндрович Рыжко́в; born 3 September 1966 in Rubtsovsk) is a Russian historian and liberal politician, a former co-chair of People's Freedom Party (2006 � ...

from the

People's Freedom Party People's Freedom Party may mean one of the following: * People's Freedom Party (Russia) The People's Freedom Party (russian: Партия народной свободы, Partiya narodnoy svobody) or shortly PARNAS (russian: ПАРНАС), formerl ...

. The Moscow Police claimed there were 1500 demonstrators but eyewitnesses claimed there were up to 5000 people at the peak of the demonstration. In any case, the turnout was far below that of the multi-party rally of 10 December. A rally was held on 18 December in Moscow, organized by

in Moscow and took place at Manezhnaya Square. Several thousand supporters turned out, but many were elderly. Another smaller rally took place in Saint Petersburg at Pionerskaya Square.

Gennady Zyuganov Gennady Andreyevich Zyuganov (russian: Генна́дий Андре́евич Зюга́нов; born 26 June 1944) is a Russian politician, who has been the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation and served as ...

, head of the party and its candidate for President of Russia, has denounced election regularities but has also expressed his opposition to the organizers of the mass demonstrations who he views as ultra liberals who are exploiting unrest.

24 December 2011

There were large follow-up demonstrations 24 December including a rally "For Fair Elections" at Academician Sakharov Avenue in Moscow. There were rallies in

Orenburg Orenburg (russian: Оренбу́рг, ), formerly known as Chkalov (1938–1957), is the administrative center of Orenburg Oblast, Russia. It lies on the Ural River, southeast of Moscow. Orenburg is also very close to the Kazakhstan-Russia bor ...

Chelyabinsk Chelyabinsk ( rus, Челя́бинск, p=tɕɪˈlʲæbʲɪnsk, a=Ru-Chelyabinsk.ogg; ba, Силәбе, ''Siläbe'') is the administrative center and largest city of Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia. It is the seventh-largest city in Russia, with a ...

Saratov Saratov (, ; rus, Сара́тов, a=Ru-Saratov.ogg, p=sɐˈratəf) is the largest city and administrative center of Saratov Oblast, Russia, and a major port on the Volga River upstream (north) of Volgograd. Saratov had a population of 901,36 ...

and two 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 ...

. A podium was built at the end of the avenue. On the podium were slogans, "Russia will be free" and "This election Is a farce." The atmosphere was peaceful but at least 40 bus loads of riot police were standing by as thousands of protesters demonstrated, with a total of up to 50,000 expected to arrive during the day.

Alexei Kudrin Alexei Leonidovich Kudrin ( rus, Алексе́й Леони́дович Ку́дрин, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsʲej lʲɪɐˈnʲidəvʲɪtɕ ˈkudrʲɪn; born 12 October 1960) is a Russian liberal politician and economist. Previously he served as the C ...

, a former Putin insider, spoke advocating dialogue. He was booed by some, but cheered by others. At least 21,000 protesters were in Moscow by 11:10 am GMT, according to Itar Tass, and there were at least 100 arrests in Vladivostok. According to on scene reporters, the atmosphere was fun, with white ribbons and balloons and condom-themed banners – a mocking reference to Vladimir Putin saying he believed the white ribbons, the protest movements symbol, were to promote safe sex. The Interior Ministry estimated that at least 28,000 people had turned up, whilst some in the opposition claimed 120,000 protesters were in Moscow. Reporters of the ''Moscow Times'' said the figure was well above the 30,000 to 60,000 at the previous event and that there were about 80,000 protesters who came to this rally. The infographics from

shows that the Sakharov Avenue can provide room for a maximum of 96,000 people at a density of 35 people per 10 sq m, or for 55,000 people at a smaller and more realistic density distribution.

, greeted with a ovation when he finally spoke, said there were enough people present at the protest to march to and overrun the Kremlin, but that they were committed to remaining peaceful, at least for the moment. The crowd reportedly included liberals, anarchists, communists, nationalists and monarchists.

Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet politician who served as the 8th and final leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...

did not attend or speak but sent a message of support. On the day of the rally, the former Soviet President called on Putin to resign.

Mikhail Prokhorov Mikhail Dmitrievich Prokhorov ( rus, Михаил Дмитриевич Прохоров, p=mʲɪxɐˈil ˈdmʲitrʲɪjɪvʲɪtɕ ˈproxərəf; born 3 May 1965) is a Russian-Israeli oligarch, politician, and former owner of the Brooklyn Nets. I ...

, the billionaire independent presidential candidate, was in the crowd but did not speak.

Speakers on Sakharov Avenue

Speakers have been arranged by Alexey Navalny, Garry Kasparov, Boris Nemtsov, and Vladimir Tor, based on the principle of representation of different political forces. The last speaker was

Grandfather Frost Ded Moroz (russian: Дед Мороз, ; Russian diminutive: russian: Дедушка Мороз, Dedushka Moroz, label=none; sk, Dedo Mráz; pl, Dziadek Mróz) or Morozko (russian: Морозко) is a legendary figure similar to Saint Nicho ...

who wished everyone a "Happy New Year".

Nemtsov phone conversations controversy

On 19 December, Lifenews.ru news portal published a recording of phone conversations ascribed to

, the leader of PARNAS People's Freedom Party, and one of the main organizers of the demonstration on Bolotnaya square on 10 December. According to one of the recordings, which were called by Nemtsov himself "partially authentic, partially montaged and partially fake", he considers protesters "lemmings" (Russian: "хомячки"), "timid penguins" from Facebook and

Vkontakte VK (short for its original name ''VKontakte''; russian: ВКонтакте, meaning ''InContact'') is a Russian online social media and social networking service based in Saint Petersburg. VK is available in multiple languages but it is predomin ...

social networks, and claims he is "forced to represent" these people. In other recordings, he used profanities and referenced to the sexual life of some other leaders of the demonstration. He also called another prominent leader of protests,

"a specialist of manipulating the internet mob". Nemtsov later apologized to several leaders he characterized in these conversations, but not to protesters, and claimed that people that made recordings available to the public committed a crime. Lifenews.ru claimed at least 3 million visitors coming to the site during the day, and the site was not accessible for some time.

4 February 2012

Despite temperatures of −20 degrees Celsius a third demonstration was carried out in Moscow by the For Fair Elections movement on 4 February, with 160,000 participants according to organizers or 38,000 participants according to the police. According to the state-run

Ria Novosti RIA Novosti (russian: РИА Новости), sometimes referred to as RIAN () or RIA (russian: РИА, label=none) is a Russian state-owned domestic news agency. On 9 December 2013 by a decree of Vladimir Putin it was liquidated and its asse ...

's calculations, the Bolotnaya Square site provides room for a maximum of 101,000 people at a maximum density of 35 people per 10 sq m on the quay and 15 people per 10 sq m in the park, or for 53,000 people at a smaller and less compact density distribution. This time the demonstration started with a march from Kaluzhskaya Square to

where a meeting was held. The anti-Putin protesters carried white balloons and were wearing white ribbons. They chanted "Putin, Go Away!" and "Russia without Putin!". One of the banners read "Putin is a person without shame or conscience". Among the speakers were Yevgeniya Chirikova,

, Olga Romanova,

Ilya Yashin Ilya Valeryevich Yashin (russian: Илья́ Вале́рьевич Я́шин; born 29 June 1983) is a Russian opposition politician who led the PARNAS party from 2012 to 2016, and then its Moscow branch. He was also head of the Moscow munici ...

and

. The meeting was ended by

Yuri Shevchuk Yuri Yulianovich Shevchuk (russian: Юрий Юлианович Шевчук; born 16 May 1957) is a Soviet and Russian rock musician and singer/songwriter who leads the rock band DDT, which he founded with Vladimir Sigachyov in 1980. He is bes ...

who sang his famous song "Rodina" (Motherland). The same day demonstrations were being held in other cities throughout Russia such as

St 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 ...

Nizhni Novgorod Nizhny Novgorod ( ; rus, links=no, Нижний Новгород, a=Ru-Nizhny Novgorod.ogg, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj ˈnovɡərət ), colloquially shortened to Nizhny, from the 13th to the 17th century Novgorod of the Lower Land, formerly known as Gork ...

Penza Penza ( rus, Пе́нза, p=ˈpʲɛnzə) is the largest city and administrative center of Penza Oblast, Russia. It is located on the Sura River, southeast of Moscow. As of the 2010 Census, Penza had a population of 517,311, making it the 38th-l ...

and

Yaroslavl Yaroslavl ( rus, Ярослáвль, p=jɪrɐˈsɫavlʲ) is a city and the administrative center of Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, located northeast of Moscow. The historic part of the city is a World Heritage Site, and is located at the confluence ...

. Also the Russian-speaking population of other countries organized rallies worldwide with similar demands: Germany, Israel, USA. The organisers of the third Moscow "For Fair Elections" protest had difficulties originally financing the protest because contributions from the public had waned by January 2012, so they financed the organisation of the protest with money collected earlier for other events.

26 February 2012

At least 3,500 people demonstrated against Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg, under heavy police presence, but no arrests were made. In Moscow on Sunday 26 February up to 30,000 people lined the

Garden Ring The Garden Ring, also known as the "B" Ring (russian: Садо́вое кольцо́, кольцо́ "Б"; transliteration: ''Sadovoye Koltso''), is a circular ring road Avenue (landscape), avenue around central Moscow, its course correspondin ...

in a protest called the Big White Circle. White clothes and white ribbons were worn as protestors formed a nine-mile human chain holding a white banner. The event was described as an apolitical "act of unity" to avoid the official permission which protests require.

5 March 2012

In response to Vladimir Putin's reelection during the Presidential Elections, protesters took to the streets of Moscow. After being denied to demonstrate on

Lubyanka Square Lubyanskaya Square (, Lubyanskaya ploshchad'), or simply Lubyanka in Moscow lies about north-east of Red Square. History first records its name in 1480, when Grand Prince Ivan III of Moscow, who had conquered Novgorod in 1471, settled many Novgo ...

up to 25,000 people protested in

Pushkin Square Pushkinskaya Square or Pushkin Square () is a pedestrian open space in the Tverskoy District in central Moscow. Historically, it was known as ''Strastnaya Square'' before being renamed for Alexander Pushkin in 1937. It is located at the juncti ...

. A couple of thousand protestors stayed behind and clashed with riot police who moved in to disperse them, leading to several hundred arrests, including

, Sergey Udaltsov and

. Anti-government protests also took place in St Petersburg too, albeit smaller, at 3,000 people where 300 were arrested.

10 March 2012

Another "For Fair Elections" protest was staged on the

Novy Arbat New Arbat Avenue (russian: link=no, Новый Арбат) is a major street in Moscow running west from Arbatskaya Square on the Boulevard Ring to Novoarbatsky Bridge on the opposite bank of the Moskva River. The modern six-lane avenue (original ...

street in Moscow. A permit was issued for 50,000, but just 25,000 came according to the organisers and 10,000 according to the police. The mood was downbeat after Putin won an absolute majority everywhere but Moscow where he garnered 46.95% of the vote.

of Left Front, called for a massive demonstration 1 May, but no further protests are scheduled.

18 March 2012

Up to 1000 protesters gathered at an unsactioned demonstration at the Ostankino television tower and 94 were arrested. They were protesting against a documentary called ''The Anatomy of Protest'', which had been shown on 15 March on

, a channel owned by

Gazprom PJSC Gazprom ( rus, Газпром, , ɡɐzˈprom) is a Russian majority state-owned multinational energy corporation headquartered in the Lakhta Center in Saint Petersburg. As of 2019, with sales over $120 billion, it was ranked as the larges ...

, a state-run firm. The documentary claimed that protesters against the election of Putin as president had been given "money and cookies" as payment. It also claimed that

, a well-known opposition blogger, had been "spreading misinformation" and had "too many bodyguards" who were "beating up journalists". Protesters wore white ribbons and chanted "Shame on NTV!"

8 April 2012

For the first time since the beginning of the protests, opposition activists were allowed onto

to demonstrate, though they were not allowed to pitch a tent. Just the previous weekend protesters were barred from the square and arrests made. This time, "hundreds" gathered, including

Yevgenia Chirikova Yevgeniya Sergeyevna Chirikova ( rus, Евге́ния Серге́евна Чи́рикова: born 12 November 1976 in Moscow) is a Russian environmental activist, primarily known for opposing the building of a motorway through Khimki Forest nea ...

and

Astrakhan mayoral election of 2012

After fraud was alleged in the mayoral election of 2012 in

Astrakhan Astrakhan ( rus, Астрахань, p=ˈastrəxənʲ) is the largest city and administrative centre of Astrakhan Oblast in Southern Russia. The city lies on two banks of the Volga, in the upper part of the Volga Delta, on eleven islands of the ...

and the United Russia candidate was declared the winner, organizers of the 2011–2012 Russian protests supported the defeated candidate, Oleg V. Shein of Just Russia, in a

hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke a feeling of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most ...

. Substantial evidence of fraud was cited by the protesters but an official investigation failed to find significant violations. The activists from Moscow found it difficult to gain traction over the issue with local residents who, like most Russians, accept political corruption as a given that is useless to protest. The emissaries from Moscow persisted, buoyed by celebrities who support the reform movement, drawing 1,500 to a rally on 14 April.

6 and 7 May 2012

Moscow rally 6 May 2012 Bolshoy Kamenny Bridge

Protests involving about 20,000 people took place in Moscow the day before Putin's inauguration as President for his third term. Some called for the inauguration to be scrapped. About 400 protesters were arrested by the police, including

and

and 80 were injured. On the day of the inauguration, at least 120 protesters were arrested in Moscow. Police also detained over 100 young men of conscription age (18–27), including 70 who had avoided the military draft. From the very beginning, the so-called "March of Millions" was a nervous event. Even before the march, many large liberal media sites:

Echo Moscow Echo of Moscow (russian: links=no, Эхо Москвы, translit=Ekho Moskvy) was a 24/7 commercial Russian radio station based in Moscow. It broadcast in many Russian cities, some of the former Soviet republics (through partnerships with local ra ...

radio station,

Kommersant ''Kommersant'' (russian: Коммерсантъ, , ''The Businessman'' or Commerce Man, often shortened to Ъ) is a nationally distributed daily newspaper published in Russia mostly devoted to politics and business. The TNS Media and NRS Russia ...

daily, and

Dozhd TV Rain ( rus, Дождь, Dozhd, p=ˈdoʂtʲ, a=Ru-дождь (doʂtʲ).ogg; stylized ДОДЬ) is an independent Russian television channel. It was launched in 2010 in Russia, and since 2022 was based in Latvia. It focuses on news, discussio ...

TV channel, were subjected to DDoS-attacks.

Ilya Ponomarev Ilya Vladimirovich Ponomarev (russian: Илья́ Влади́мирович Пономарёв; born 6 August 1975) is a Russian politician who was a member of the State Duma from 2007 to 2016. He was the only member of the State Duma not to ...

, an opposition leader and member of parliament, said the police had started the clashes. "The police started it. Bolotnaya square filled up and the police sealed it off. when they started to push demonstrators, and people reacted," he said. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's press secretary,

Dmitry Peskov Dmitry Sergeyevich Peskov ( rus, Дмитрий Сергеевич Песков, p=pʲɪˈskof; born 17 October 1967) is a Russian diplomat and the press secretary for Russian President Vladimir Putin. Gazeta.ru reported "The efforts that the law enforcement are going to in order to provoke the protesters are so evident, it's impossible to remain blind to the plan of radicalization of peaceful protests behind their actions." Several hundreds meetings continued on 6/7 night, 7, 7/8 night and 8 May in different places in Moscow. Opposition leaders were arrested again. The arrests continued in the following months. The authorities' crackdown on the pro-democratic movement resulted in what has come to be known as the " Bolotnaya square case".

Opposition Coordination Council

Due to the fractured nature of the opposition, in June 2012 activists decided to create a 45-member Opposition Coordination Council (OCC), which would try to coordinate and direct dissent in Russia. Elections for the council were held on 20–22 October 2012. 170,000 people had registered on the sit
cvk2012.org
of whom nearly 98,000 were classed as "verified" and nearly 82,000 had cast their votes. Most votes were cast for

12 June 2012

Moscow Russia Kremlin closed during protests-2

A peaceful protest rally by tens of thousands, protest organizers estimated their numbers at 50,000, while police put it at 15,000, originating at

was held in Moscow on 12 June 2012,

Russia Day Russia Day (russian: links=no, День России, ) called Day of adoption of the declaration of state sovereignty of RSFSR (russian: links=no, День принятия Декларации о государственном суверен� ...

. The rally was preceded by soaking rain; there was a thunderstorm after a few hours. Protest activities fell within the conditions of the permit which had been issued by the authorities. A call by Sergei Udaltsov to march on the

Investigative Committee of Russia The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation (russian: link=no, Следственный комитет Российской Федерации) has since January 2011 been the main federal investigating authority in Russia. Its name (' ...

which had raided organizers' homes on 11 June was rejected by other protest organizers. The protest rally defied an atmosphere of

intimidation Intimidation is to "make timid or make fearful"; or to induce fear. This includes intentional behaviors of forcing another person to experience general discomfort such as humiliation, embarrassment, inferiority, limited freedom, etc and the victi ...

and repression fostered by the Putin administration: The previous day, police had raided the homes of various opposition leaders and called them in for interrogation an hour before the protest was due to start on 12 June: Alexei Navalny,

and

Ksenia Sobchak Ksenia Anatolyevna Sobchak (russian: Ксения Анатольевна Собчак, BGN/PCGN: ''Kseniya Anatol'yevna Sobchak'', GOST: ''Ksenija Anatolevna Sobčak'', ; born 5 November 1981) is a Russian public figure, TV anchor, journalist, ...

all attended the interrogations. The rally was also the first to follow a new law passed in June 2012 to punish protesters with larger fines. Participation in the protest was diverse, united only by opposition to Putin; in addition to the revolutionary anti-capitalist Left Front led by Sergei Udaltsov, black-clad

Russian nationalists Russian nationalism is a form of nationalism that promotes Russian cultural identity and unity. Russian nationalism first rose to prominence in the early 19th century, and from its origin in the Russian Empire, to its repression during early B ...

and liberals sporting white ribbons participated despite expressing mutual disdain.

15 December 2012

On Saturday afternoon about 2,000 protestors gathered in

in Moscow, the location of the headquarters of the Federal Security Services, a successor to the KGB. A requested permit to lay flowers at the memorial stone in the square was denied. There were mass arrests including Aleksei Navalny, Sergei Udaltsov of the Left Front, Kseniya Sobchak, and Ilya Yashin. Those arrested, if prosecuted and convicted, face heavy fines under recently enacted legislation which outlaws organizing or participating in unauthorized demonstrations.

13 January 2013: March Against Scoundrels

Moscow rally 13 January 2013 Trubnaya Square 5

On 13 January 2013 a protest called the "March Against Scoundrels" was held in Moscow protesting passage of the Anti-Magnitsky law, a bill banning adoption of Russian children by people in the United States. A permit was sought and issued. According to the police there were about 10,000 participants. According to oppositioners counting there were from 30 to 50 thousand people. According to bloggers' counting – 24,474 participants.

6 May 2013

On 6 May 2013 a mass rally took place in Moscow. Among featured speakers were

and

Aleksei 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 ...

. Opposition leaders put the number of attendants at up to 50,000, though police stated 7,000 took part.

18 July 2013

On 18 July 2013

was sentenced to five years in prison for alleged embezzlement. After the verdict was read, thousands gathered in Moscow's Manezhnaya Square to protest it.

Rallies in support of the government

Moscow rally 23 February 2012, Luzhniki 4

Simultaneously with the anti-government protests, the government and United Russia were supported by rallies of the government funded

youth organizations The following is a list of youth organizations. A youth organization is a type of organization with a focus upon providing activities and socialization for minors. In this list, most organizations are international unless noted otherwise. ...

4 December 2011

On 4 December, Nashi took to the Moscow streets with 15,000 young people that had been brought to Moscow from more than 20 regions and held meetings and concerts on the Revolution Square and Manezhnaya Square to express their support of president Medvedev and prime minister Putin.

6 December 2011

On 6 December, about 5,000 activists from Nashi and other pro-Kremlin youth groups held pro-government rallies on Manezhnaya Square and Triumfalnaya Square. To a New York Times reporter, it seemed that many of the participants in the rally were forced to attend.

12 December 2011

On 12 December, the 18th anniversary of the

Constitution of Russia The Constitution of the Russian Federation () was adopted by national referendum on 12 December 1993. Russia's constitution came into force on 25 December 1993, at the moment of its official publication, and abolished the Soviet system of gov ...

, thousands of United Russia sympathizers demonstrated in Moscow in support of Putin.

23 February 2012

On 23 February, Russia's

Defender of the Fatherland Day Defender of the Fatherland Day (russian: День защитника Отечества ''Den' zashchitnika Otechestva''; kk, Отан қорғаушы күні; tg, Рӯзи Дорандаи Ватан; ky, Мекенди коргоочула ...

, a massive pro-Putin march took place in Moscow. The march ended in

Luzhniki Stadium Luzhniki Stadium ( rus, стадион «Лужники», p=stədʲɪˈon lʊʐnʲɪˈkʲi, ''Stadion Luzhniki'') is the national stadium of Russia, located in its capital city, Moscow. The full name of the stadium is Grand Sports Arena of the ...

, where a crowd of 130,000 (according to police estimates) was addressed by Vladimir Putin. The BBC reported, however, that some attendees claimed they had been made to take part or paid. Some said they had been told they were attending a "folk festival". After Putin spoke, popular folk band Lubeh took to the stage. Putin's speech in Luzhniki was his single speech before such a large audience during 2012 presidential campaign. In the speech he called not to betray the

Motherland A homeland is a place where a cultural, national, or racial identity has formed. The definition can also mean simply one's country of birth. When used as a proper noun, the Homeland, as well as its equivalents in other languages, often has ethni ...

, but to love her, to unite around Russia and to work together for the good, to overcome the existing problems. He said that the foreign interference into Russian affairs should not be allowed, that Russia has its own free will. He compared the political situation at the moment with the First Fatherland War of 1812, reminding that its 200th anniversary and the anniversary of the

Battle of Borodino The Battle of Borodino (). took place near the village of Borodino on during Napoleon's invasion of Russia. The ' won the battle against the Imperial Russian Army but failed to gain a decisive victory and suffered tremendous losses. Napoleon ...

would be celebrated in 2012.Putin cited

Lermontov Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov (; russian: Михаи́л Ю́рьевич Ле́рмонтов, p=mʲɪxɐˈil ˈjurʲjɪvʲɪtɕ ˈlʲɛrməntəf; – ) was a Russian Romantic writer, poet and painter, sometimes called "the poet of the Caucas ...

's poem ''

Borodino The Battle of Borodino (). took place near the village of Borodino on during Napoleon's invasion of Russia. The ' won the battle against the Imperial Russian Army but failed to gain a decisive victory and suffered tremendous losses. Napoleon ...

'' and ended the speech with

Vyacheslav Molotov Vyacheslav Mikhaylovich Molotov. ; (;. 9 March Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">O._S._25_February.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Old Style and New Style dates">O. S. 25 February">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dat ...

's famous

Great Patriotic War The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of conflict between the European Axis powers against the Soviet Union (USSR), Poland and other Allies, which encompassed Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Northeast Europe (Baltics), and Sout ...

slogan "The Victory Shall Be Ours!" (''"Победа будет за нами!"''). Moscow rally 23 February 2012, Luzhniki 2

4 March 2012

On the post-

election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...

rally of his supporters at Manezhnaya Square, while making an acceptance speech, Putin was for the first time ever seen with tears in his eyes (later he explained that "it was windy"). He said to a 110,000-strong audience: "I told you we would win and we won!"

Anti-Orange protests

24 December 2011

On 2 December on

Sparrow Hills Sparrow Hills (russian: Воробьёвы го́ры, ), formerly known as Lenin Hills (, ) between 1935 and 1999, is a hill on the right bank of the Moskva River and one of the highest points in Moscow, reaching a height of above the river ...

and his movement "Sut' Vremeni" (Essence of Time) organized the first protest against what was viewed as "

orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

" protesters in Moscow. The protest also supported the slogan "For Fair Elections".

4 February 2012

Alongside smaller rallies that gathered 50,000 people throughout the rest of the country, the large "Антиоранжевый митинг" ("Anti-Orange protest") was held on

Poklonnaya Hill Poklonnaya Gora (russian: Покло́нная гора́, literally "bow-down hill"; metaphorically "Worshipful Submission Hill"') is, at 171.5 meters, one of the highest natural spots in Moscow. Its two summits used to be separated by the Setun ...

in Moscow, near the World War II memorial complex, the largest protest action of all the protests so far according to the police. It was organized by a number of public organisations: Patriots of Russia party, Kurginyan's "Sut' Vremeni", "Congress of Russian communities", "Regional public fund in support of the

Heroes of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union (russian: Герой Советского Союза, translit=Geroy Sovietskogo Soyuza) was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for ...

and Heroes of Russia" "Trade Union of Russian citizens", "Pensioner Union of Russia", "Russian Union of Afghanistan veterans", "Assistance to realisation of constitutional rights of citizens 'Human rights'" group and others. According to the Moscow police, 138,000–150,000 people participated at the protest at the peak of attendance, while more people could have passed through the site. Opposition groups disputed these figures "as grossly inflated", and some journalists, including one of the state-owned news agency

, said the real number was "much lower". The infographics from Ria Novosti shows that the Poklonnaya Hill site can provide room for a maximum of 193,000 people at a density of 35 people per 10 sq m, or for 117,000 people at a smaller and more realistic density distribution. Some demonstrators, many of whom were state employees, said they attended under threat of dismissal. Some such claims made in the course of the protest organization were later refuted as falsifications by the opposition activists and many other demonstrators said they came on their own free will according to a pro-government news site politonline.ru. Vladimir Putin acknowledged that some attendees could have been coerced, but said that it was impossible to gather so many people by administrative pressure alone. The participants were mostly middle age, but there were many young and old persons. Some of the participants were bused from other regions and cities with the transport provided by organizations participating in the action. At a temperature of −21 °C, a number of

heat gun A heat gun is a device used to emit a stream of hot air, usually at temperatures between 100 °C and 550 °C (200-1000 °F), with some hotter models running around 760 °C (1400 °F), which can be held by hand. Heat ...

s were set up, as well as tents with free hot tea and confectionery. The resulting large attendance at the protest was not expected, and resulted in a traffic jam in a nearby Kutozovsky Avenue. The organizers of the protests applied to the Moscow authorities to gather 15,000 people, but since the number was exceeded, they were faced with paying a fine. Vladimir Putin, who earlier in the evening claimed to share the ideals of those who would go to Poklonnaya Hill, offered to pay part of the fine with his own money. The "anti-Orange protest" name alludes to the (November 2004 – January 2005)

in Ukraine, the most ill-known to Russians

color revolution Colour revolution (sometimes coloured revolution) is a term used since around 2004 by worldwide media to describe various anti-regime protest movements and accompanying (attempted or successful) changes of government that took place in post ...

. The term "orange" in Russian political discourse has highly negative connotations. The speakers declared to be against "orangeism", "collapse of the country", "perestroika" and "revolution", reminding the public of such historical events as Gorbachev's

Perestroika ''Perestroika'' (; russian: links=no, перестройка, p=pʲɪrʲɪˈstrojkə, a=ru-perestroika.ogg) was a political movement for reform within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) during the late 1980s widely associated wit ...

and the 1917 Russian Revolution and urging never to repeat them. The call for fair elections was supported, but the leaders of protesters on Bolotnaya Square and Sakharov Avenue were condemned as "successors to those who destroyed the country in 1991 and 1917" and who allegedly want "to remove not Putin, but the Russian state". The visit of anti-government protest leaders to the U.S. embassy was condemned, as well as the alleged American interference.

Pop-rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and ...

singer and composer Denis Maydanov performed on the scene, and pop-rock group

Diskoteka Avariya Diskoteka "Avaria" (russian: Дискотека "Авария" - ''Disco "Accident"'') are a Russian band from Ivanovo, Russia. The trio consists of Anna Khokhlova (Анна Хохлова), Aleksey Borisovich Serov (Алексей Борисов� ...

sang their popular song "The Evil Approaches". The symbol of the "anti-Orange protest" was an orange snake strangled in a fist. The motto of the protest was "Нам есть, что терять!" (''We have things to lose''). The top slogan chosen by online vote was "Не дадим развалить страну!" (''Won't allow collapse of the country!'') and among those frequently used were "Мы за стабильность" (''We are for stability'') and "Когда мы едины и мы непобедимы!" (''When we are united we are invincible!'').

Speakers on Poklonnaya Hill

, politologist, theater director, TV host * Maksim Shevchenko, journalist, TV and radio host *

Tatiana Tarasova Tatiana Anatolyevna Tarasova (; born 13 February 1947) is a Russian figure skating coach and national figure skating team adviser. Tarasova has been coach to more world and Olympic champions than any other coach in skating history. Her students h ...

, coach to more world and Olympic champions than any other coach in

figure skating Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are me ...

history *

Anatoly Wasserman Anatoly Aleksandrovich Wasserman (russian: Анато́лий Алекса́ндрович Ва́ссерман, uk, Анатолій Олександрович Вассерман; born 9 December 1952) is a politician, journalist and political pu ...

, political pundit, a frequent winner of intellectual TV games * Nikolay Starikov, writer, opinion journalist *

Mikhail Leontyev Mikhail Vladimirovich Leontyev (russian: Михаи́л Влади́мирович Лео́нтьев; born 12 October 1958) is a Russian political commentator currently working on national TV Channel One (Russia), Channel One. He is known for h ...

, journalist and politologist *

Valentin Lebedev Valentin Vitalyevich Lebedev (russian: Валентин Витальевич Лебедев; born April 14, 1942 in Moscow) is a Soviet cosmonaut who made two flights into space. His stay aboard the Space Station Salyut 7 with Anatoly Berezo ...

, journalist, leader of the "Union of

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...

citizens" *

Natalya Narochnitskaya Nataliya Alekseevna Narotchnitskaya (russian: Наталия Алексеевна Нарочницкая) (born 23 December 1948) is a Russian politician, historian and political commentator. Between 1982 and 1989 Narochnitskaya worked at the Sec ...

, historian, politologist * Eduard Bagirov, writer, scenarist * Johan Bäckman, Finnish, political author, legal sociologist and criminologist * Pavel Popovsky, leader of the "Union of airtroopers of Russia" *

Aleksandr Dugin Aleksandr Gelyevich Dugin ( rus, Александр Гельевич Дугин; born 7 January 1962) is a Russian political philosopher, analyst, and strategist, who has been widely characterized as a fascist. Born into a military intelligen ...

, philosopher, politologist, nationalist publicist *

Alexander Prokhanov Alexander Andreyevich Prokhanov (russian: Алекса́ндр Андре́евич Проха́нов; born 26 February 1938) is a Russian writer, a member of the secretariat of the Writers Union of the Russian Federation and the author of more ...

, writer, publicist * Yegor Kholmogorov, nationalist publicist *

Vladimir Dolgikh Vladimir Ivanovich Dolgikh (russian: Владимир Иванович Долгих; 5 December 1924 – 8 October 2020) was a Russians, Russian politician who was head of the Metallurgical Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Part ...

, World War II veteran, two times

Hero of Socialist Labor The Hero of Socialist Labour (russian: links=no, Герой Социалистического Труда, Geroy Sotsialisticheskogo Truda) was an honorific title in the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact countries from 1938 to 1991. It repre ...

, member of the

State Duma The State Duma (russian: Госуда́рственная ду́ма, r=Gosudárstvennaja dúma), commonly abbreviated in Russian as Gosduma ( rus, Госду́ма), is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia, while the upper house ...

Media coverage

According to the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

on 7 December, "State TV channels have generally ignored the protests, covering only pro-government rallies" In contrast, newspapers have mentioned the protests in more depth. The only federal TV station to mention the protests at length before 10's December was the independent, but not broadcast widely,

Ren TV REN TV (russian: РЕН ТВ) is a Russian free-to-air television network, was founded on 1 January 1997 by Irena Lesnevskaya and her son, Dmitry Lesnevsky, who had been running REN TV as a production house for other national Russian television ...

. By 10 December, however, breaking with practice in recent years, all the main state-controlled channels were covering the protests, and in a professional and objective manner. According to one Russian media Alexey Pivovarov,

-channel host (now tightly run state media), refused to broadcast if the protests are not covered. Later, in 2013 Pivovarov have left the NTV. Western media covered the protests extensively starting on 5 December. Initial coverage by

Fox News The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...

used footage of the 2011 Athens riots, showing

palm trees Palm most commonly refers to: * Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand * Palm plants, of family Arecaceae **List of Arecaceae genera * Several other plants known as "palm" Palm or Palms may also refer to: Music * Palm ( ...

, people throwing

Molotov cocktails A Molotov cocktail (among several other names – ''see other names'') is a hand thrown incendiary weapon constructed from a frangible container filled with flammable substances equipped with a fuse (typically a glass bottle filled with flammab ...

at police, and signs in Greek which Fox later claimed was an error and subsequently removed the report from its site.

Internet

Twitter users in Russia have reported being overwhelmed by pro-government tweets timed to Bolotnaya Square protest-related tweets. Many tweets seem to have been sent by hijacked computers, though the perpetrator(s) are not yet known. According to a report made by

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

the Russia's

Federal Security Service The Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB) RF; rus, Федеральная служба безопасности Российской Федерации (ФСБ России), Federal'naya sluzhba bezopasnosti Rossiyskoy Feder ...

(FSB) have made a formal request to the social media site

VKontakte VK (short for its original name ''VKontakte''; russian: ВКонтакте, meaning ''InContact'') is a Russian online social media and social networking service based in Saint Petersburg. VK is available in multiple languages but it is predomin ...

to block opposition groups who 'encourage people to "trash the streets, to organize a revolution". The request was declined as only a few users behaved violently and it was unjust to ban a whole generally peaceful group.

Sites and naming of protests

The two largest protest actions in December 2011 took place on

(10 December) and Academician Sakharov Avenue (24 December), and another major protest action is planned on Bolotnaya on 4 February 2012. This resulted in the campaigners being dubbed the "Bolotnaya-Sakharov opposition", or taking into account the root meanings, the "swampy-sugar opposition." Former Speaker of Russia's

and a leader of the

party

Boris Gryzlov Boris Vyacheslavovich Gryzlov (also spelled Grizlov; russian: Борис Вячеславович Грызлов, ; born December 15, 1950), is a Russian politician. He was Interior Minister from 2001 to 2003 and Speaker of the State Duma (the lo ...

advised Russians to "keep away of all those swamps", alluding to the phrase from the Russian film adaptation of

Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Hol ...

The Hound of the Baskervilles ''The Hound of the Baskervilles'' is the third of the four crime novels by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle featuring the detective Sherlock Holmes. Originally serialised in ''The Strand Magazine'' from August 1901 to April 1902, it is set i ...

("As you value your life or your reason keep away from the moor" in the original book).

Symbols

The

white ribbon The white ribbon is an awareness ribbon sometimes used by political movements to signify or spread their beliefs. It is usually worn on garments or represented in information sources such as posters, leaflets, etc. The White Ribbon has been t ...

emerged in as a symbol of opposition and since the elections has picked up momentum. Some Russians have been tying it to their clothing, cars, and other objects, and the motif has appeared on

runet Runet (russian: Рунет), a portmanteau of ru (code for both the Russian language and Russia's top-level domain) and net/network, is the Russian-language community on the Internet and websites. The term Runet was coined in Israel in the spr ...

and on Twitter. By 10 December, the

television channel was showing a white ribbon by its on-screen logo. The station's owner,

Natalya Sindeyeva Natalya Vladimirovna Sindeyeva (, ; born June 11, 1971) is a Russian journalist, founder, main owner and chief executive officer of the Dozhd media holding, which includes the Dozhd TV channel, the Republic.ru online magazine and the magazine. ...

, explained this as being a sign of "sincerity", rather than "propaganda", and an attempt to be "mediators" instead of simply journalists. NTV described 10 December as the day of "white ribbons". Vladimir Putin contemptuously referred to the white ribbons used by Russian protesters, comparing them to

condom A condom is a sheath-shaped barrier device used during sexual intercourse to reduce the probability of pregnancy or a sexually transmitted infection (STI). There are both male and female condoms. With proper use—and use at every act of in ...

s being used as a symbol of the fight against AIDS.

Reactions

Response from Russian officials

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Dmitry Medvedev Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev ( rus, links=no, Дмитрий Анатольевич Медведев, p=ˈdmʲitrʲɪj ɐnɐˈtolʲjɪvʲɪtɕ mʲɪdˈvʲedʲɪf; born 14 September 1965) is a Russian politician who has been serving as the dep ...

ordered an investigation into allegations of vote-rigging, though this received a cynical response from many opponents on his Facebook page. He also defended the right of people to express their views, while denouncing the street protests. On 22 December 2011, he called for a number of reform steps, including reintroducing the direct election of governors and reducing the required signatures for registering a political party or running in the presidential election. A bill reintroducing direct election of governors was introduced in the Duma on 16 January 2012. Prime Minister

said that Hillary Clinton "set the tone for some opposition activists" to act "in accordance with a well-known scenario and in their own mercenary political interests <...> our people do not want the situation in Russia to develop like it was in Kyrgyzstan or not so long ago in Ukraine." Putin's spokesperson

Ukrainian President The president of Ukraine ( uk, Президент України, Prezydent Ukrainy) is the head of state of Ukraine. The president represents the nation in international relations, administers the foreign political activity of the state, condu ...

Viktor Yushchenko Viktor Andriyovych Yushchenko ( uk, Віктор Андрійович Ющенко, ; born 23 February 1954) is a Ukrainian politician who was the third president of Ukraine from 23 January 2005 to 25 February 2010. As an informal leader of th ...

during his presidency who were transferring the

to Russia; he also claimed some organizers were paid by "foreign powers". On 27 December 2011, Putin reassigned Vladislav Surkov to the task of advancing Russia's modernization and development efforts; he remains a deputy prime minister but will no longer oversee Russia's political processes. Putin suggested that a dialogue with the protestors on the internet might be productive, but while upholding the right of the protestors to protest, criticized them for lack of direction and lack of a program relevant to Russia's development, comparing them to "

Brownian motion Brownian motion, or pedesis (from grc, πήδησις "leaping"), is the random motion of particles suspended in a medium (a liquid or a gas). This pattern of motion typically consists of random fluctuations in a particle's position insi ...

, going every which way."

Vladislav Surkov Vladislav Yuryevich Surkov (russian: Владислав Юрьевич Сурков; born 21 September 1962 or 1964) is a Russian politician and businessman. He was First Deputy Chief of the Russian Presidential Administration from 1999 to 201 ...

, political adviser to the Kremlin and Chief of Russian Presidential Administration, who had been developing strategies for Russia to cope with an uprising such as the Orange Revolution in Ukraine has recognized the vital nature of the demonstrators but hopes to head off development of a potentially revolutionary movement by instituting reforms such as those announced by Russian President Dmitri A. Medvedev in his state of the nation address made 21 December 2011. According to Surkov, "The system has already changed". The rights of at least three Western television news channels (the

...

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...

and

Bloomberg Bloomberg may refer to: People * Daniel J. Bloomberg (1905–1984), audio engineer * Georgina Bloomberg (born 1983), professional equestrian * Michael Bloomberg (born 1942), American businessman and founder of Bloomberg L.P.; politician and ma ...

) were suspended in Moscow by major provider Akado Telecom on 12 July 2012. While the move was not officially linked to the protests, but rather to outdated licences, Alexei Navalny noted that it came just three days after comments by President Putin that "Russia's policies often suffer from a one-sided portrayal these days".

Response from the Obama Administration

Jay Carney James Ferguson 'Jay' Carney (born May 22, 1965) is an American public relations officer, political advisor and journalist who has served as Amazon's Senior Vice President of Global Corporate Affairs from 2015 to 2022, and the United States Whit ...

, President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

's second White House Press Secretary, said that anti-government protests in Russia are a "positive sign" for democracy in the country.

Other reactions

, former

President of the Soviet Union The president of the Soviet Union (russian: Президент Советского Союза, Prezident Sovetskogo Soyuza), officially the president of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (), abbreviated as president of the USSR (), was ...

and General Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party, has called on the authorities to hold a new election, citing electoral irregularities and ballot box stuffing. He criticized

and the

political party for violating peoples human rights and for not ruling the country in a proper Democratic fashion. During the next major round of demonstrations that occurred on 24 December, he called on Putin to resign.

Interpretation of protests

Moscow rally 24 December 2011, Sakharov Avenue -12

The 2011 protests were the biggest in Russia since the 1990s, and surprised many with their scale. According to

Victor Shenderovich Viktor Anatolyevich Shenderovich (russian: Ви́ктор Анато́льевич Шендеро́вич; born August 15, 1958) is a Russian satirist, writer, scriptwriter and radio host. Biography Shenderovich was born in Moscow into a family of ...

, an opposition political commentator for radio station

Ekho Moskvy Echo of Moscow (russian: links=no, Эхо Москвы, translit=Ekho Moskvy) was a 24/7 commercial Russian radio station based in Moscow. It broadcast in many Russian cities, some of the former Soviet republics (through partnerships with local ra ...

, "This is political, not economic. The coal miners came out because they were not paid. The people coming onto the streets of Moscow are very well off. These are people protesting because they were humiliated. They were not asked. They were just told, 'Putin is coming back.'" According to

Thomas L. Friedman Thomas Loren Friedman (; born July 20, 1953) is an American political commentator and author. He is a three-time Pulitzer Prize winner who is a weekly columnist for ''The New York Times''. He has written extensively on foreign affairs, global ...

, ''The New York Times'' columnist this humiliation of the rising middle class is the common ground the Russian movement shares with the

Arab Spring The Arab Spring ( ar, الربيع العربي) was a series of Nonviolent resistance, anti-government protests, Rebellion, uprisings and Insurgency, armed rebellions that spread across much of the Arab world in the early 2010s. It began in T ...

. According to ''

'', another "explanation is the high level of public corruption n Russia which threatens new personal wealth. A second is a phenomenon seen in Gen. Augusto Pinochet's Chile, that economic growth can inadvertently undermine autocratic rule by creating an urban professional class that clamors for new political rights." An additional explanation is that "Putin's unilateral announcement in September that he would run again for the presidency, in effect swapping places with Mr. Medvedev" contributed greatly, something some "Russians now snidely refer to ..as "rokirovka" – the Russian word for

castling Castling is a move in chess. It consists of moving the king two squares toward a rook on the same and then moving the rook to the square that the king passed over. Castling is permitted only if neither the king nor the rook has previously moved ...

in chess". Imprisoned oligarch

Mikhail Khodorkovsky Mikhail Borisovich Khodorkovsky (russian: link=no, Михаил Борисович Ходорковский, ; born 26 June 1963), sometimes known by his initials MBK, is an exiled Russian businessman and opposition activist, now residing in L ...

has claimed that the protests were inspired, at least in part, by the example of the

. He told ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', "We have only to reflect on the events in countries swept up in the Arab Spring to recognise the transformation taking place in the compact between the rulers and the ruled. While there are certainly many differences between those countries and Russia, there are some fundamental similarities." In March 2012

Sergei Mironov Sergey Mikhailovich Mironov (russian: Серге́й Миха́йлович Миро́нов; born 14 February 1953) is a Russian politician. He was Chairman of the Federation Council, the upper house of the Russian parliament, from 2001 to 2011 ...

, running for the presidency of Russia, also compared the situation to the Arab Spring, saying that: "Whoever wins the presidency, if he does not immediately begin deep political and social reforms ..Russia will be shaken by a kind of Arab Spring within two years." The

Telegraph 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 p ...

pointed out that since Mironov is a former ally of

, he could have been trying to scaremonger "as a subtle way of endorsing a crackdown on street demonstrations that are expected in the days after the vote".

Repression

8 June 2012 in response to increased militancy by a segment of the protest movement a

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

was enacted imposing severe penalties on protesters who engage in unauthorized demonstrations or who exceed the boundaries of authorized ones. Maximum penalties were fines of several thousand rubles or imposed labor of up to 200 hours. On 11 June 2012, the day before a scheduled protest in Moscow the homes of the prominent activists,

Kseniya Sobchak Ksenia Anatolyevna Sobchak (russian: Ксения Анатольевна Собчак, BGN/PCGN: ''Kseniya Anatol'yevna Sobchak'', GOST: ''Ksenija Anatolevna Sobčak'', ; born 5 November 1981) is a Russian public figure, TV anchor, journalist, ...

and others were raided and extensively searched. Literature, electronic data, lists of supporters, and funds were seized. The activists were ordered to report to the

for questioning during the scheduled protest.

In popular culture

''All the Kremlin's Men'', 2015 book by Mikhail Zygar. ''Winter Go Away!'', 2012 documentary/ drama film directed by Dmitriy Kubasov. ''Dressed Up for a Riot: Misadventures in Putin's Moscow'', a 2018 nonfiction book by Michael Idov

Notes

References

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Interfax-Ukraine The Interfax-Ukraine ( uk, Інтерфакс-Україна) is a Kyiv-based Ukraine, Ukrainian independent news agency founded in 1992. The company does not belong to the Russian news corporation Interfax Information Services. The company pub ...

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Lenta.ru ''Lenta.ru'' (russian: Лента.Ру; stylised as LƐNTA.RU) is a Russian-language online newspaper. Based in Moscow, it is owned by Rambler Media Group. In 2013, the Alexander Mamut-owned companies "SUP Media" and "Rambler-Afisha" merged to ...

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Herszenhorn {{cite news, title=Thousands Join Anti-Kremlin Protest in Moscow, url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/27/world/europe/thousands-join-anti-kremlin-protest-in-moscow.html, access-date=26 February 2012, newspaper=The New York Times, date=26 February 2012, author=Michael Schwirtz, quote=The protest was called the Big White Circle, and demonstrators arrived decked out in full-length white furs and huge white hats. Long lines of people unfurled rolls of paper towels and waved them while cars drove along the road, the Garden Ring, honking furiously and displaying their own white flags and banners. {{cite news, title=Russian Liberals Growing Uneasy With Alliances, url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/29/world/europe/russian-liberals-weigh-alliance-with-nationalists.html, access-date=29 January 2012, newspaper=The New York Times, date=28 January 2012, author=Michael Schwirtz {{cite news, title=Where Communists See an Opening, Many Russians See a Closed Door, url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/21/world/europe/communists-solidify-opposition-role-in-russia.html, access-date=22 December 2011, newspaper=The New York Times, date=20 December 2011, author=David M. Herszenhorn, quote=He, ennadi A. Zyuganov has joined in popular protests against Mr. Putin's government, while seeking to block the rise of the liberal reformers leading those rallies by denouncing them as a subversive threat to Russia's future. {{cite news, title=The Politics of Dignity, url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/01/opinion/friedman-the-politics-of-dignity.html, access-date=1 February 2012, newspaper=The New York Times, date=31 January 2012, author=Thomas L. Friedman, format=Op-ed column, quote=One phrase, he says, "suddenly appeared all over the country: 'We are not cattle.' {{cite news, title=Large Anti-Putin Protest Signals Growing Resolve, url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/13/world/europe/anti-putin-demonstrators-gather-in-moscow.html, access-date=13 June 2012, newspaper=The New York Times, date=12 June 2012, author=David M. Herszenhorn, author2=Ellen Barry {{cite news, title=Protesters Defy Efforts to Muffle Anti-Putin Outcry, url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/13/world/europe/anti-putin-demonstrators-gather-in-moscow.html, access-date=12 June 2012, newspaper=The New York Times, date=12 June 2012, author=David M. Herszenhorn, author2=Ellen Barry {{cite news, title=Moscow's Winter of Dissent Faces Reality of Putin's Win, url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/11/world/europe/moscow-protesters-confront-the-reality-of-putins-re-election.html, access-date=10 March 2012, newspaper=The New York Times, date=10 March 2012, author=David M. Herszenhorn, author2=Ellen Barry {{cite news, title=Arrests and Violence at Overflowing Rally in Moscow, url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/07/world/europe/at-moscow-rally-arrests-and-violence.html, access-date=7 May 2012, newspaper=The New York Times, date=6 May 2012, author=Ellen Barry, author2=Michael Schwirtz {{cite news, title=Moscow Protesters Take Their Show on the Road, url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/15/world/europe/leaders-of-rallies-in-moscow-take-their-show-on-the-road.html, access-date=15 April 2012, newspaper=The New York Times, date=14 April 2012, author=David M. Herszenhorn {{cite news, title=Architect of Putin's System of Politics Is Reassigned, url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/28/world/europe/putin-takes-another-swipe-at-russian-protesters.html, access-date=27 December 2011, newspaper=The New York Times, date=27 December 2011, author=Ellen Barry {{cite web, url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/News-Feed/World/New-Russian-protest-sees-smaller-turnout/Article1-783870.aspx, title=New Russian protest sees smaller turnout, date=17 December 2011, access-date=20 December 2011, work=Hindustan Times, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130616005554/http://www.hindustantimes.com/News-Feed/World/New-Russian-protest-sees-smaller-turnout/Article1-783870.aspx, archive-date=16 June 2013, url-status=dead {{cite news, url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iM0as_1tGwYci_h-endRJfwu2ZhQ?docId=CNG.1b1c1e6e86480c1ebb12077314907860.141, title=New Russian protest yields smaller turnout, date=17 December 2011, access-date=20 December 2011, agency=Agence France-Presse {{cite web , url=http://www.novayagazeta.ru/news/52861.html , script-title=ru:Оппозиционные митинги 24 декабря в городах России и мира , first=Yevgeny , last=Feldmann , date=23 December 2011 , publisher=

, language=ru , trans-title=Opposition rallies of 24 December in Russian cities and around the world , access-date=23 December 2011 , archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131013204643/http://www.novayagazeta.ru/news/52861.html , archive-date = 2013-10-13, url-status=live {{cite news, title=Russia Allows Protest, but Tries to Discourage Attendance, url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/10/world/europe/russia-allows-rally-but-discourages-attendance.html, access-date=10 December 2011, newspaper=The New York Times, date=9 December 2011, author=Michael Schwirtz {{cite news , url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17422267 , title=Dozens held at Moscow protest over 'pro-Putin' TV film , access-date=18 March 2012 , work=BBC News , date=18 March 2012 , archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140421125231/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17422267 , archive-date = 2014-04-21, url-status=live {{cite news , url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/vladimir-putin/9151502/Russian-opposition-figures-arrested-after-anti-Putin-Moscow-rally.html , title=Russian opposition figures arrested after anti-Putin Moscow rally , access-date=18 March 2012 , location=London , work=The Daily Telegraph , first=Tom , last=Parfitt , date=18 March 2012 , archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120421075424/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/vladimir-putin/9151502/Russian-opposition-figures-arrested-after-anti-Putin-Moscow-rally.html , archive-date = 2012-04-21, url-status=live {{cite news, title=Outspoken Putin critic Alexei Navalny hit with prison sentence, url=http://edition.cnn.com/2013/07/18/world/europe/russia-navalny-case/index.html, access-date=18 July 2013, date=18 July 2013, publisher=CNN, archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131016111550/http://edition.cnn.com/2013/07/18/world/europe/russia-navalny-case/index.html , archive-date = 2013-10-16, url-status=live {{cite news, title=Young and Connected, 'Office Plankton' Protesters Surprise Russia, url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/24/world/europe/young-and-connected-office-plankton-protesters-stir-russia.html, access-date=23 December 2011, newspaper=The New York Times, date=23 December 2011, author=Ellen Barry {{cite web , url=http://rbth.ru/articles/2012/11/09/post-election_schism_in_russias_opposition_parties_19949.html , title=Post-election schism in Russia's opposition parties , date=9 November 2012 , ''

Russia Beyond the Headlines ''Russia Beyond'' (formerly ''Russia Beyond The Headlines'') is a Russian multilingual project operated by TV-Novosti (formerly Russia Today), founded by the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti. History ''Russia Beyond The Headlines'' was ...

'', 9 November 2012. Retrieved 9 November 2012. {{cite news , url=http://www.voanews.com/english/news/Moscow-Braces-for-Anti-Putin-Rally-135313948.html , publisher=Voice of America , date=9 December 2011 , title=Pro democracy protests put Putin, Russia at crossroads , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120418194651/http://www.voanews.com/english/news/Moscow-Braces-for-Anti-Putin-Rally-135313948.html , archive-date=18 April 2012 , url-status=dead , access-date=9 December 2011 {{cite web, url=http://www.voanews.com/english/news/Moscow-Braces-for-Anti-Putin-Rally-135313948.html, publisher=Voice of America, date=9 December 2011, title=Pro-Democracy Protests Put Putin, Russia at Turning Point, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120418194651/http://www.voanews.com/english/news/Moscow-Braces-for-Anti-Putin-Rally-135313948.html, archive-date=18 April 2012, url-status=dead, access-date=9 December 2011 {{cite web, url=http://www.euronews.net/2011/12/12/pro-putin-supporters-rally-in-moscow/, title=Pro-Putin supporters rally in Moscow, date=12 December 2011, access-date=12 December 2011, work=

Euronews Euronews (styled on-air in lowercase as euronews) is a European television news network, headquartered in Lyon, France. The network began broadcasting on 1 January 1993 and covers world news from a European perspective. The majority of Eurone ...

{{cite news, title=Rousing Russia With a Phrase, url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/10/world/europe/the-saturday-profile-blogger-aleksei-navalny-rouses-russia.html, access-date=10 December 2011, newspaper=The New York Times, date=9 December 2011, author=Ellen Barry {{cite news, title=Saturday Rally Suggests Protest Mood Is Growing, url=http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/saturday-rally-suggests-protest-mood-is-growing/450414.html, access-date=24 December 2011, newspaper=

The Moscow Times ''The Moscow Times'' is an independent English-language and Russian-language online newspaper. It was in print in Russia from 1992 until 2017 and was distributed free of charge at places frequented by English-speaking tourists and expatriates s ...

, date=24 December 2011, author=Alexander Bratersky, author2=Natalya Krainova , archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140427082848/http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/saturday-rally-suggests-protest-mood-is-growing/450414.html , archive-date = 2014-04-27, url-status=live {{cite news , title=Protests across Russia to test Putin and opponents , first=Steve , last=Gutterman , url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-idUSTRE7B610S20111209?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&rpc=71 , work=

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was estab ...

, date=9 December 2011 , access-date=11 December 2011 , archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140407095244/https://www.reuters.com/article/2011/12/09/us-russia-idUSTRE7B610S20111209?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&rpc=71 , archive-date = 2014-04-07, url-status=live {{cite news, last=Gutterman , first=Steve , url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-idUSTRE7B610S20111209?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&rpc=71 , title=Protests across Russia to test Putin and opponents , work=Reuters , access-date=12 December 2011 , date=9 December 2011 , archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140407095244/https://www.reuters.com/article/2011/12/09/us-russia-idUSTRE7B610S20111209?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&rpc=71 , archive-date = 2014-04-07, url-status=live {{cite news, url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/gorbachev-calls-for-nullifying-elections-as-protests-continue-in-moscow/2011/12/07/gIQAyWnMcO_story.html , title=Protests continue in Moscow, as Gorbachev calls for nullifying elections , newspaper=The Washington Post , access-date=12 December 2011 , date=7 December 2011 , first1=Will , last1=Englund , first2=Kathy , last2=Lally {{cite news, url=http://www.smh.com.au/world/putin-evokes-foreign-threats-in-election-battle-cry-20120224-1ttpm.html, title=Putin evokes foreign threats in election battle cry, date=25 February 2012, access-date=26 February 2012, work=The Sydney Morning Herald , archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140428125508/http://www.smh.com.au/world/putin-evokes-foreign-threats-in-election-battle-cry-20120224-1ttpm.html , archive-date = 2014-04-28, url-status=live {{cite news , url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-16209917 , title=Putin: Election undoubtedly reflected public opinion , work=BBC News , date=15 December 2011, archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120219083628/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-16209917 , archive-date = 2012-02-19, url-status=live,

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...

(15 December 2011) {{cite news, title=Russian Protesters Mobilize Via Social Networks, As Key Opposition Leaders Jailed, url=http://www.rferl.org/content/russian_protesters_mobilize_online_as_leaders_jailed/24414881.html, access-date=7 December 2011, newspaper=Radio Free Europe, Radio Liberty, date=7 December 2011, author=Tom Balmforth , archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131015224954/http://www.rferl.org/content/russian_protesters_mobilize_online_as_leaders_jailed/24414881.html , archive-date = 2013-10-15, url-status=live {{cite news , url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17653930 , title=Moscow Red Square opened to opposition supporters , publisher=BBC , access-date=9 April 2012 , date=8 April 2012 , archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140428221023/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17653930 , archive-date = 2014-04-28, url-status=live {{cite news, title=On Russian TV, a Straightforward Account Is Startling, url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/11/world/europe/russian-tv-changing-its-strategy-shows-protests.html, access-date=11 December 2011, newspaper=The New York Times, date=10 December 2011, author=Michael Schwirtz {{cite news, author=Miriam Elder in Moscow , url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/dec/07/russia-anti-putin-protest-grow?newsfeed=true , title=Russia's anti-Putin protests grow , work=The Guardian , location=UK , access-date=11 December 2011 , date=7 December 2011 , archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130114235143/http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/dec/07/russia-anti-putin-protest-grow?newsfeed=true , archive-date = 2013-01-14, url-status=live {{cite news , url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-19994303 , title=Russia's opposition ballot: The country's other elections , work=BBC News , date=19 October 2012, archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140219070353/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-19994303 , archive-date = 2014-02-19, url-status=live,

...

Background

Previous protest rallies in 2000s

2011 election

Demographic and economic basis

Protests against government

4 December 2011

5–7 December 2011

10 December 2011

Demands

Speakers on Bolotnaya Square

Other cities

17–18 December 2011

24 December 2011

Speakers on Sakharov Avenue

Nemtsov phone conversations controversy

4 February 2012

26 February 2012

5 March 2012

10 March 2012

18 March 2012

8 April 2012

Astrakhan mayoral election of 2012

6 and 7 May 2012

Opposition Coordination Council

12 June 2012

15 December 2012

13 January 2013: March Against Scoundrels

6 May 2013

18 July 2013

Rallies in support of the government

4 December 2011

6 December 2011

12 December 2011

23 February 2012

4 March 2012

Anti-Orange protests

24 December 2011

4 February 2012

Speakers on Poklonnaya Hill

Media coverage

Internet

Sites and naming of protests

Symbols

Reactions

Response from Russian officials

Response from the Obama Administration

Other reactions

Interpretation of protests

Repression

In popular culture

See also

Further reading

Notes

References

External links