(The Economist) Egor zhukov, a student in Moscow, published a video blog on August 1st in which he described how the siloviki (members of Russia’s security services) had seized power in Russia, using protests over local elections in Moscow as an excuse. “Russia will inevitably be free,” he said, “but we may not live to see it if we let fear win, because when fear wins, silence comes…a silence that will be disturbed by the screeching brakes of a black police wagon and the deafening ring of a doorbell that divides life into before and after.” […]
What started as a protest against electoral shenanigans turned into a broader movement for human rights. The initial slogan dopuskai “let [the candidates] in” changed into otpuskai, “let [political prisoners] out”. Kirill Rogov, an analyst, says that the one thing that independent-minded Russians can agree on is that they should be allowed to demonstrate without being beaten up. […]
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