JRL HOME - RSS - FB - Tw - Support

Mass Protests Force Kremlin To Take Heed Of Opposition Demands - Experts
RIA Novosti - 2.5.12 - JRL 2012-21

Moscow, 5 February: As a result of the latest rallies in Moscow, the authorities are now paying heed to the opposition and the political system in Russia might change after the presidential election (on 4 March), according to Aleksey Mukhin, general director of the Centre for Political Information.
"Undoubtedly, the authorities have reached certain conclusions (in the wake of the rallies). I believe that before and after the (presidential) election there will be a major revision of the political system to create a more effective mechanism to respond to the desires and demands of certain sections of society," Mukhin told RIA Novosti on Saturday (4 February).

According to him, the pro-government rally, which has been staged, is "a protective measure by the state, so that constitutional order is not destroyed".

"Obviously, if protesters come into conflict with the law-enforcement authorities, this means there is a conflict between the state and society. But if on the same day both the authorities and the opposition stage rallies, this means there is a conflict in society," Mukhin stressed.

According to him, the effectiveness of the rallies on Bolotnaya Square and Poklonnaya Gora (Hill) should not be assessed in terms of how many people attended them.

"It is quite possible that attendance at the rally on Poklonnaya Gora was organized at the grassroots level by managers of enterprises, among others. Therefore in this case attendance does not mean much," the political experts concluded.

Dmitriy Oreshkin, head of the Merkator group, shared Mukhin's view. He also said that the authorities had made their conclusions and were trying to establish dialogue with the opposition but, according to him, these are not the conclusions that are needed - this is "a dialogue from the top rather than a dialogue on equal terms".

"In the functional sense the conclusion is rather dull - in the sense that we should oppose their rally with our own rally. So purely ideological struggle is getting under way They are confident that, if there is a (opposition) rally, we should respond with our own rally. But they should not have responded with this As for how many people come out onto the square, this is hypothetical because it depends on organizational resources," he said.

"It is evident that a third of the population - or even more than a third - honestly support the One Russia (United Russia) (ruling party) and, probably, Putin. But there are also the other two-thirds of the population. What to do with them? In order for them to be represented in parliament in equal measure, proportionally and fairly, fair elections are needed. But everyone wants this! My understanding is that the Poklonnaya Gora rally was also staged under the same slogan. So, let's have fair elections. We are all for them! In any case, my understanding is that, first and foremost, protesters want fair authorities and fair elections. And after holding fair elections, we shall determine how many are for Putin and how many are for someone else," Oreshkin said.

Several rallies were staged in Moscow on Saturday. According to the Moscow GUMVD (Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs), about 33,000-34,000 attended the rally on Bolotnaya Square. The rally on Poklonnaya Gora was a response to the opposition rally and was attended, according to the GUMVD, by almost 140,000 people.

Keywords: Russia, Protests, Politics - Russia News - Russia

 

Moscow, 5 February: As a result of the latest rallies in Moscow, the authorities are now paying heed to the opposition and the political system in Russia might change after the presidential election (on 4 March), according to Aleksey Mukhin, general director of the Centre for Political Information.
"Undoubtedly, the authorities have reached certain conclusions (in the wake of the rallies). I believe that before and after the (presidential) election there will be a major revision of the political system to create a more effective mechanism to respond to the desires and demands of certain sections of society," Mukhin told RIA Novosti on Saturday (4 February).

According to him, the pro-government rally, which has been staged, is "a protective measure by the state, so that constitutional order is not destroyed".

"Obviously, if protesters come into conflict with the law-enforcement authorities, this means there is a conflict between the state and society. But if on the same day both the authorities and the opposition stage rallies, this means there is a conflict in society," Mukhin stressed.

According to him, the effectiveness of the rallies on Bolotnaya Square and Poklonnaya Gora (Hill) should not be assessed in terms of how many people attended them.

"It is quite possible that attendance at the rally on Poklonnaya Gora was organized at the grassroots level by managers of enterprises, among others. Therefore in this case attendance does not mean much," the political experts concluded.

Dmitriy Oreshkin, head of the Merkator group, shared Mukhin's view. He also said that the authorities had made their conclusions and were trying to establish dialogue with the opposition but, according to him, these are not the conclusions that are needed - this is "a dialogue from the top rather than a dialogue on equal terms".

"In the functional sense the conclusion is rather dull - in the sense that we should oppose their rally with our own rally. So purely ideological struggle is getting under way They are confident that, if there is a (opposition) rally, we should respond with our own rally. But they should not have responded with this As for how many people come out onto the square, this is hypothetical because it depends on organizational resources," he said.

"It is evident that a third of the population - or even more than a third - honestly support the One Russia (United Russia) (ruling party) and, probably, Putin. But there are also the other two-thirds of the population. What to do with them? In order for them to be represented in parliament in equal measure, proportionally and fairly, fair elections are needed. But everyone wants this! My understanding is that the Poklonnaya Gora rally was also staged under the same slogan. So, let's have fair elections. We are all for them! In any case, my understanding is that, first and foremost, protesters want fair authorities and fair elections. And after holding fair elections, we shall determine how many are for Putin and how many are for someone else," Oreshkin said.

Several rallies were staged in Moscow on Saturday. According to the Moscow GUMVD (Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs), about 33,000-34,000 attended the rally on Bolotnaya Square. The rally on Poklonnaya Gora was a response to the opposition rally and was attended, according to the GUMVD, by almost 140,000 people.