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talkpoliticsHaha, I bet you lot are already getting bored with all the Russia-related posts here already. OK, remember the DDoS attacks on LJ earlier this year? It was found that the main target were several LJ bloggers from the Russian portion of the blogosphere. That was Kremlin's response to LJ becoming the primary sanctuary for anti-Putin dissidents and other-thinkers. The top target was a 30-year old lawyer, and LJ blogger Alexei Navalny (![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
navalny). He's probably the most popular dissident in Russia right now and he's a big thorn in Putin's ass. And he's using LJ, yay! Well, like most Russian dissidents btw.
The biggest protests in Russia since the unsuccessful coup attempt of the commies in '91 took place immediately after the election for the state Duma. Thousands of signals for fraud and falsification all around the country prompted people to occupy Moscow's center. Navalny was there, too. The protesters rallied around him and he became something like the central forward of their attack against the regime. On his blog Navalny said "We're being called computer hamsters. Yep, I'm a hamster who's caught in the web of these thugs, and I'm sick of it!"
Just a few hours after writing this, he was detained by the Militsia (recently renamed to Politsia, as if that would somehow change their face overnight). That happened on December 5. Since then he was being secretly moved from one jail to another. Eventually he stood before a tribunal and was sentenced to 15 days in prison for "inciting unrest". The authorities are probably hoping that things will have settled down until that time is over. Actually Navalny's family didn't know anything about his fate until Tuesday noon. Then they learned about the verdict through some of his fellow bloggers. News spreads pretty fast on the Internet. The same sentence was given to Ilya Lashin, another prominent opponent of the regime.
Some background... Navalny first blew up the Russian blogosphere in 2010 when he created his website RosPil.info - the name is a word-game and roughly means "Theft of Funds and Most of all, State Ones". He used this platform to leak mind-boggling revelations about corruption in Russia.
Since then the public has been following every single word on that website. In October last year Navalny accused the board of the public corporation TransNeft (the monopolist owner of Russia's oil pipelines) in diverting enormous sums from the Siberian-Pacific pipeline which connects the oil fields in Central Asia to the Pacific port of Vladivostok and China. Using a classified report of the tax authorities, he exposed facts about the company's accounts which had been used to launder 3 billion euros out of the 9 billion budget for the construction of the 5000 km pipeline.
Navalny also came up with the now legendary phrase "A gang of thieves and thugs", directed at Putin's party United Russia.
He doesn't consider himself a revolutionary. He has said several times on his LJ blog that he's "just a fly who can bite, and it hurts a lot". Or maybe a thorn in the ass. One that has to be squashed or silenced. And Putin sure doesn't shy away from silencing his critics.
There are of course the "Nashi" type of Putin-loyalists who'd instantly tell you that because Navalny is an associated student at the Yale university, and because he was initially a supporter of the liberal party Yabloko, he's simply America's agent who's been recruited to stir unrest and make the regime look bad. This is in line with Putin's accusation that Hillary Clinton and the Department of State of the US is sponsoring and secretly supporting the dissident protests in Moscow.
In fact Navalny mostly associates himself with the nationalists. During the December 4 protests there were many young members of the Russian nationalists. The March on Kremlin is widely considered a nationalist event, there were masked youth there, chanting nationalist slogans. Navalny defended them on his blog, saying "Do the masked young people look scary and dangerous to you? Nothing of the sort! They aren't as horrible as the faces of Putin and Medvedev that you see on your television every day". The next day he was arrested. But obviously he won't shut up. The only way to shut him down is to make him disappear. And, I'm afraid, Putin doesn't shy away from that, either.
So, my prediction is that thenavalny blog will soon become dormant. And that'll be yet another proof that Putin stops at nothing to get things his way. Now cue the Nashi trolls on T_P!
navalny). He's probably the most popular dissident in Russia right now and he's a big thorn in Putin's ass. And he's using LJ, yay! Well, like most Russian dissidents btw.The biggest protests in Russia since the unsuccessful coup attempt of the commies in '91 took place immediately after the election for the state Duma. Thousands of signals for fraud and falsification all around the country prompted people to occupy Moscow's center. Navalny was there, too. The protesters rallied around him and he became something like the central forward of their attack against the regime. On his blog Navalny said "We're being called computer hamsters. Yep, I'm a hamster who's caught in the web of these thugs, and I'm sick of it!"
Just a few hours after writing this, he was detained by the Militsia (recently renamed to Politsia, as if that would somehow change their face overnight). That happened on December 5. Since then he was being secretly moved from one jail to another. Eventually he stood before a tribunal and was sentenced to 15 days in prison for "inciting unrest". The authorities are probably hoping that things will have settled down until that time is over. Actually Navalny's family didn't know anything about his fate until Tuesday noon. Then they learned about the verdict through some of his fellow bloggers. News spreads pretty fast on the Internet. The same sentence was given to Ilya Lashin, another prominent opponent of the regime.
Some background... Navalny first blew up the Russian blogosphere in 2010 when he created his website RosPil.info - the name is a word-game and roughly means "Theft of Funds and Most of all, State Ones". He used this platform to leak mind-boggling revelations about corruption in Russia.
Since then the public has been following every single word on that website. In October last year Navalny accused the board of the public corporation TransNeft (the monopolist owner of Russia's oil pipelines) in diverting enormous sums from the Siberian-Pacific pipeline which connects the oil fields in Central Asia to the Pacific port of Vladivostok and China. Using a classified report of the tax authorities, he exposed facts about the company's accounts which had been used to launder 3 billion euros out of the 9 billion budget for the construction of the 5000 km pipeline.
Navalny also came up with the now legendary phrase "A gang of thieves and thugs", directed at Putin's party United Russia.
He doesn't consider himself a revolutionary. He has said several times on his LJ blog that he's "just a fly who can bite, and it hurts a lot". Or maybe a thorn in the ass. One that has to be squashed or silenced. And Putin sure doesn't shy away from silencing his critics.
There are of course the "Nashi" type of Putin-loyalists who'd instantly tell you that because Navalny is an associated student at the Yale university, and because he was initially a supporter of the liberal party Yabloko, he's simply America's agent who's been recruited to stir unrest and make the regime look bad. This is in line with Putin's accusation that Hillary Clinton and the Department of State of the US is sponsoring and secretly supporting the dissident protests in Moscow.
In fact Navalny mostly associates himself with the nationalists. During the December 4 protests there were many young members of the Russian nationalists. The March on Kremlin is widely considered a nationalist event, there were masked youth there, chanting nationalist slogans. Navalny defended them on his blog, saying "Do the masked young people look scary and dangerous to you? Nothing of the sort! They aren't as horrible as the faces of Putin and Medvedev that you see on your television every day". The next day he was arrested. But obviously he won't shut up. The only way to shut him down is to make him disappear. And, I'm afraid, Putin doesn't shy away from that, either.
So, my prediction is that the
navalny blog will soon become dormant. And that'll be yet another proof that Putin stops at nothing to get things his way. Now cue the Nashi trolls on T_P!
(no subject)
Date: 11/12/11 18:56 (UTC)I see You're so much getting into russian affairs.
(no subject)
Date: 11/12/11 18:59 (UTC)But do tell what you think about the whole situation. Which side are you on? Cos you know, there must be always some sides, right?
(no subject)
Date: 11/12/11 19:17 (UTC)1. To become involved in: got into trouble by stealing cars.
2. Informal To be interested in: got into gourmet cooking.@@@@@@
I was on Navalny side until he joined some nationalists. He is not against idea "Russia for ethnically russians" and He actually for kind of Socialism.
But You're probable right - He is torn in Putin's ass. Unfortunately He is the best in Putin's opposition and if He going to run for presdent I'll vote for him.
Not because I like him, but 'cause I dislike Putin..
(no subject)
Date: 11/12/11 19:25 (UTC)I like cooking while stealing cars! :)
(no subject)
Date: 11/12/11 19:35 (UTC)About cooking in stealed cars - I support you.
(no subject)
Date: 11/12/11 19:37 (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 11/12/11 20:02 (UTC)But He is populist. He says lot of things just to pleased some people who disappointed in Putin's politic.
Foe example - He supports idea russian Caucasus should be ceded, 'cause its economy is very poor and other Russia has to feed caucasian people. Also he considers caucasian population very hostile to ethnically russians
It would brings such a huge area into hands of islamists for sure. Doesn't matter for nationalists and Navalny.
(no subject)
Date: 11/12/11 20:05 (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 11/12/11 20:12 (UTC)This are nationalists who supports secession of Caucasus.
They treat all non-slavic people from there as foreigners, who wanna
conquer whole Russia and hate slavics and insult them.
(no subject)
Date: 11/12/11 21:37 (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 11/12/11 21:41 (UTC)They live in Russia, just belong to different ethnicity
(no subject)
Date: 11/12/11 22:19 (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 11/12/11 19:02 (UTC)Ballots with erasable ink! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9duIwMnZ_Y&feature=related)
(no subject)
Date: 11/12/11 19:05 (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 11/12/11 20:01 (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 11/12/11 19:08 (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 11/12/11 19:27 (UTC)Ok not really, just kidding.
(no subject)
Date: 11/12/11 19:29 (UTC)OMG now you've doomed yourself to a DDoS attack! :S
(no subject)
Date: 12/12/11 02:32 (UTC)Seriously, I too am enjoying the posts about Russia, and the other posts about different parts of the world (I mean, I hardly knew there were other parts of the world, isolationistic U.S.-centric that I am) Not to mention how reassuring it is to know that all that I read here on T_P is fair and balanced and absolute truth*...off to read AF's mediterranian post :D
*note: fun (as opposed to nasty) hyperbolic sarcasm ;)
(no subject)
Date: 12/12/11 11:57 (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 12/12/11 10:21 (UTC):P
Don't blame the guy.
Date: 15/12/11 19:02 (UTC)Your comment reminds me of the way that John Birchers attacked the civil rights movement because it was being attacked by violent racists.
Re: Don't blame the guy.
Date: 15/12/11 22:11 (UTC)I'm starting to think we need some kind of universal code in this comm so people can deduce between serious comments and sarcasm or jokes. Jeez!
Re: Don't blame the guy.
Date: 17/12/11 01:20 (UTC)Re: Don't blame the guy.
Date: 17/12/11 03:44 (UTC)Re: Don't blame the guy.
Date: 17/12/11 08:54 (UTC)Re: Don't blame the guy.
Date: 17/12/11 13:10 (UTC)A thorn in the donkey?
Date: 15/12/11 19:04 (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 15/12/11 19:37 (UTC)It is difficult...
Date: 17/12/11 21:25 (UTC)