(Moscow-on-Thames) The dust hasn’t yet settled, but we can draw some early conclusions from today’s protests in Russia. In a nutshell, the Kremlin and the opposition are at a stalemate. I don’t see reliable nationwide turnout figures, but this feels similar in size and scale to the 2017 Dimon protests, which brought out 60,000-100,000 nationwide. This may be bigger. Either way, more than the Kremlin was hoping to see, but probably less than the opposition wanted. The Kremlin went to extraordinary lengths to keep people off the streets – including preventive arrests, online censorship, and threats to workers and students – and there’s little indication it worked (though, I suppose, turnout could have been even higher). The opposition demonstrated that it can turn out significant numbers of people nationwide, even when its leaders are in jail and there is a credible threat of violence. […]
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