How Politically Active are Russian Youth Today?

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November 02 2009, 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Event Summary

"There is much mistrust and aggressiveness in Russian society today," said Roman Dobrokhotov, leader of the Russian youth democratic movement "We," at a Kennan Institute lecture on 2 November 2009. Before describing the motivation and purpose behind "We," Dobrokhotov described the political atmosphere in which it was created and detailed what he considered were Russia’s four biggest political problems.

Censorship
Dobrokhotov defined this not only as restriction of information by the government but also distribution of propaganda and falsified information by the government. The "We" leader gave an example of a news piece about President Obama which was translated by the Russian press to mean exactly the opposite of what Obama had said in English.

Limited freedom of choice in elections
"This problem is less visible, but nevertheless exists in the lack of standardized election procedures and myriad of obstacles for oppositional party candidates," said Dobrokhotov. He went on to describe his own personal experience collecting the 5,000 signatures necessary for an oppositional candidate to be put on the ballot, only to have the government deny the candidate anyway by claiming that the signatures were fake.

Lack of freedom to protest
Dobrokhotov informed the audience that there is no opportunity to get legal permission for protests. Those that do take to the streets even in non-violent ways are usually arrested; Dobrokhotov described how he was arrested for swearing at a protest in which he wore tape over his mouth and carried blank posters. He also offhandedly mentioned that he had been arrested once for reading Pushkin’s poetry aloud in a public setting.

Political repression
"The political elite do not support the opposition because it is endangers their personal security," stated Dobrokhotov, citing the recent murders of journalists Anna Politkovskaya, Natalia Estemirova, and the human rights lawyer Stanislav Markelov as evidence of this.

"We" is Born
The youth democratic group "We" began in 2004 and was inspired by the Orange Revolution in Ukraine. Although their number seems small, "We" reaches over 50,000 people via YouTube – where Dobrokhotov posts videos of flash mobs he has organized – and through his personal blog that boasts a wide readership.

Dobrokhotov concluded by talking about the numbers game of the opposition movement. "In Russia, there is a silent majority that does want to speak up because they don’t want to feel like a political minority. The goal of 'We' is to inspire these people to make horizontal connections with each other and encourage them to become politically active."


Written by Larissa Eltsefon

Kennan Institute (covering Russia and surrounding states)
Woodrow Wilson Center
One Woodrow Wilson Plaza
1300 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20004-3027
Email: kennan@wilsoncenter.org
Tel: 202/691-4100