Putin risks losing Moscow

[milestogo]

Russia's revitalised pro-democracy movement is increasingly gaining ground in the Russian capital.
by Leonid Ragozin
12 Aug 2019


Tens of thousands of people rallied in Moscow on August 10 to protest the exclusion of independent candidates from the local elections [AP/Alexander Zemlianichenko]

On August 10, opposition supporters held a mass protests in the Russian capital, Moscow, for the fifth consecutive weekend. The current wave of protests was triggered by the decision of the electoral commission to disqualify opposition candidates from running in the elections for the Moscow City Duma, a powerless legislative body that rubber stamps Mayor Sergey Sobianin's policies.

While organisers of the previous two demonstrations were not able to obtain official permits from the municipality to hold them, which resulted in a mass crackdown, this Saturday, the demonstration was authorised and attracted a large crowd of between 50,000 and 60,000 people.

That made it the second-largest rally since the height of the 2011-2012 Bolotnaya protests which were triggered by the rigged Duma election in December 2011. It was in reaction to those enormous demonstrations that President Vladimir Putin took an extremely harsh stance on the Maidan revolution in Ukraine, eventually occupying Crimea and starting a war in eastern Ukraine. For several years, it seemed that he had succeeded in outsourcing domestic political confrontation to the neighbouring country. His popularity ratings soared, while the opposition appeared divided and marginalised.

It is quite symbolic that when tens of thousands poured into the streets of Moscow on Saturday, Putin chose to be in Crimea, still holding on to the legitimacy it gave him five years ago. But the nationalistic fervour over the annexation of the peninsula has worn off by now and the president appears to be back at square one. Today, his approval ratings are back to what they were in the early 2010s, while the opposition has managed to regroup and is once again capable of mobilising people for large rallies.

https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/putin-risks-losing-moscow-190812092611425.html

[louis-t]

1. Should they succeed, Donnie Dumbass will take credit.

[milestogo]

3. Should they succeed, Donnie loses his Sugar Daddy.

[Leghorn21]

2. Hey Putin, you could be in big trouble here GOD WILLING

This photo is from 2 weeks ago - look at these faces, some are barely teenagers



What does it mean that they’re so young? Well, I don’t know, but - it’s really striking to me -

[Thekaspervote]

4. Putin losing his grip would be the best thing this world has seen in decades!!

We should be in the streets as we too are in grave danger....everyday

[empedocles]

5. The possibility that part of the protest crowd is motivated by putin's association with the corrupt,

vile, ugly, anti-democracy . . . TRUMP! . . . wouldn't that be ironic?

[Thekaspervote]

6. Yes! And it would send a very strong message, maybe even stronger than statesman here in the US

[moonscape]

11. He better get busy changing those

planned rigged votes back to Dems!

[orangecrush]

7. So long, Pootboy

Decent people will only take so much.

[BigmanPigman]

8. He is far from gone.

He will stay in power since he will do anything to do so. He has all the money and military he needs at his fingertips 24/7.

[sakabatou]

9. Here's hoping Putin is booted from office

[safeinOhio]

10. At least he doesn't have to worry about

lots of military style weapons in the protesters hands. Those kinds of weapons are pretty regulated there.

[Fiendish Thingy]

12. How could Putin lose if he's not allowing any opponents to run? Nt