Among those souls is John Silas “Jack” Reed, the American journalist and socialist who died in 1920, after his first-hand account, Ten Days That Shook The Earth [Boni & Liveright March 1919], of the Russian October Revolution of 1917 was published. Given the honor of a hero’s funeral, he is one of the original twelve Bolsheviks buried at the Kremlin Wall Necropolis in Moscow. Once again, one can only wonder what Reed would make of yet another revolution. For certain, Vladimir Putin, who came to power in 1999, after the abortive putsch against Mikhail Gorbachev and dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, has to be thinking about where he went wrong this time around.
"Saturday In The Park"
Thousands turned out [estimates ranged from 30k to 50k] on Saturday, December 10, 2011 from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. for an unprecedented event, even for modern Russia, a rally against alleged rigging in the Duma elections whence Putin’s United Russia Party recently claimed victory. While the turnout was certainly cause enough for many participants to feel optimistic as a result, still others had their reservations due to that old Russian pessimism which seems to permeate the consciousness of the Russian people. After all, as it's said since Tsarist times, Russians treasure their tragedies.
Despite the fact that the protest was held across the Moscow River from the Kremlin in Bolotnaya Ploshchad, which is midway between the Kropotkinskaya, Borovitskaya and Tretyakovskaya metro stations, after the demonstration was moved from Ploshchad Revolutsii to the bigger venue because of the amount of people attending, they did earn a well-deserved, albeit brief, response from powers that be.
Current Russian President Dmitry Medvedev put the following post on his Facebook page:
"I disagree with all slogans and statements made at the rally…Nevertheless, I have ordered a check into all reports about violations at polling stations"
Additionally, Andrei Isayev, United Russia Party boss, remarked:
"The protesters' point of view is very important and will be heard by the media, the state and society"
Somewhat surprisingly, even present Russian Prime Minister Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated:
"We are hearing what is being said, and we will continue to listen to it"
However, a representative from the Central Elections Commission, Nikolai Konkin, speaking for his boss, Vladimir Churov, reminded reporters that changes could only come through the court-ordered recount.
“Sunday Will Never the Same”
Political pundits walked with tippy-toes on the proverbial thin line, and wrote even thinner praise:
Boris Kagarlitsky, Director of the Institute of Globalization Studies and Social Movements and a Moscow Times columnist critiqued as follows:
"This was the biggest rally that I have ever seen in Russia, even bigger than those I witnessed in the '90s…But at the same time, it was the worst-organized one…Fewer and fewer people will attend unless some new trouble erupts, like an economic crisis. Then the public drive will grow again”
An analyst with the Center for Political Information, Alexei Mukhin, was even more concise in his criticism:
“The rally was also not much of a political victory because there was the feeling that the Kremlin, including Putin, had blessed it… Besides, General Frost did his job [referring to the sub-zero weather]…plus the Communists and the Liberal Democratic Party showing only slight support is good for Putin because he manages to reinforce his positions through people disappointed in political alternatives”.
Andrei Medvedev, commentator during Rossia 1 news broadcast couldn’t resist the irony of the rally:
“It turns out that, to express your dissatisfaction with the authorities, it is possible to gather on a square after getting permission from those same authorities?”.
As if to put an exclamation mark on the negative reviews on Monday afternoon thousands of pro-United Russia Party supporters took to the streets of Moscow to show their support for Prime Minister Putin.
“I Don't Like Mondays”
Then when helplessness and hopelessness are seemingly the sentiments of yet another season once again, the Russian people look up and what do they see Is It A Bird? Is It A Plane? Is It Superman? Well, for Russians, it might as well be, because Mikhail Dmitrievitch Prokhorov, at 6 feet 8 inches tall and with a net worth estimated to be approximately around the $18 billion dollar mark to boot, is a bigger than life contender. Da, you read it right, Mother Russia has a real contender this time. And this Misha, the Russian diminutive for Mikhail, is no Mikhail Borisovich Khodorkovsky, the oligarch-turned-political prisoner by Putin.
Prokhorov, age 46, made it official when he formally announced his plans to run in the presidential elections scheduled for March 4 as an independent candidate. The current Chairman of Polyus Gold, Russia's largest gold producer, present president of the private investment fund, ONEXIM Group, as well as the owner of the NBA’s New Jersey Nets [soon-to-be Brooklyn Nets] franchise, referred to the announcement as “the most important decision” of his life. The man, whom as a child was nicknamed “the Giraffe” will still need two million signatures in support of his candidacy to be included in the ballot.
"Ruby Tuesday"
The day also brought additional drama in the form of former Russian Finance Minister [and right-wing-centered] Alexei Kudrin, who also seemed to toss his hat into the proverbial ring saying that it was time for a new political party to present itself in the “interesting phenomena” of the disputed Duma elections. Interestingly and intriguingly, Kudrin and Prokhorov have much more in common than just financial expertise – both have beefs with Putin and Medvedev as to how their opposition to Kremlin policy was handled in the recent past, with each being pushed and shoved out of their previous prominent roles, the Ministry of Finance and Right Cause Party, respectively.
However, it’s Mikhail Prokhorov who, pardon the pun, stole the ball today, and is seen, even by those not as liberal-minded as him, as a legitimate threat to the Kremlin’s old boys club style of leadership [or per Saturday’s protest chants “United Russia is a Party of Crooks and Thieves!”] Whether he’s inspired by recent events or even revenge, Prokhorov, certainly makes for a worthy opponent who has both the means and a motive to challenge Putin. The question that begs an answer, of course, is whether or not he will be able to maneuver the latest Russian reform movement to meet him on, at the very least, middle ground by March 4th. For the record, Prokhorov talks and walks a good show as a man of the people:
“Russian businessmen need to recognize that they have responsibilities on their side of the relationship. They have to create efficient business, pay taxes and provide high salaries. They also need to help people advance in the social sphere…The biggest risk in business around the world is the risk of being ineffective...By investing in culture, art, creativity, sports and education, I wanted to give the people… new opportunities to enrich their lives, and to give something back… It is a very exciting time”.
Nice words from the new kid on the block, maybe perhaps, but what is abundantly clear to all concerned is that the very same middle class that Putin and Medvedev cultivated has now publicly declared their dissatisfaction rather demonstrably. What happens next is anybody’s guess.
Sources:
• Russia Profile, The Moscow Times and Vedomosti [The Record].
• Novy Narodnichestvo Novasti [current affairs commentary] courtesy of W.I. Zhardofoz .
Rick Stelnick - Rick Stelnick is a superannuated political scientist, crime historian and historical detective.
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