Protests on The Streets of Russia- Navainy Campaign Taking Roots
This was not an LGBT demonstration for the mistreatment they receive from Putin but these were Russians demonstrating for their lives from a system that according to them only takes care of itself. AS we in the west can see Putin's billions and billions of fortune grow, hidden on Putin's own bank a bank financed by Putin and given to his friend to run. The money collected from bribes, from those that want to do business in Russia most pay Putin's government. Russians money is being spent on a weapons race that Russia started and just like the last time it can't win. They still have a few submarines that cost billions and seat there as a witness to a corrupt broken system, nuclear vessels to be scrap because they were too expensive to operate. Some of these nuclear subs still are sinking by the yards. This was the last arms race. Money that could have been used to start up their economy. There was even talk to work with together with the US until Putin came into power.That was scrap. {utin did not want cooperation, he wanted it all. There are more sanctions coming but they are coming to Putin's friends and those that keep his money. Doubtful that it will affect the average Russian but they will be told that their situation is due to sanctions. The thing is that before there were sanctions the average cost of living for Russians were also bad. The problem is a corrupt system in which the money only trickles down to the masses. It's the same in the US but at least there is more money that trickles down since politicians can be voted out of office. The average Russian now earns about $139 translated in dollars per month. The lucky ones make that amount a week which are very few not in the government, this is not enough to buy food if they find food on the shelves and not talking about gas for the car or rubles to commute on mass transportation. The people of Russia, particularly the younger generation can see they have no future, there is nothing out there for them. Those that study hard to become a Doctor or lawyer will see that they will go to work with a tie but with pockets empty of money. What Putin is done is what the previous ruler did, Gorbachev. He lives retired in a villa full of crytal chandeliers and all the things the average Russian can not afford. Putin, on the other hand, see that type of living too poor for him. He believes money is power and he understands that why he is got this scheme to get as much as possible while Russia starves because it is not going to last for ever. Right now the military is backing him but just like the Soviet Union fell there will be a point that even the soldiers won't get paid on a regular basis. At this point, the governemnt will fall. Putin expects to be flowin in style anywhere he wants and to continue living the good life. In America some of the people with the help of Putin elected a billionaire which Americans don't mind him having plenty of money, the problem is since they have been sold the lie that all Americans can become rich if they work hard (the American dream) and follow the rules they will also make it rich. Many know that is not true but at least, one can typically earn enough go pay for the house, the car and send the kids to school. Others depend on the government's help to make ends meet.But that is it, no streets paved with gold. Americans are beginning to discover they have elected a crazy president who think he is king and has become capable of almost anything. He is also is using his position to make himself as rich as Putin. Maybe they have a bet these two to see who can TOTALLY BANKRUPT THE COUNTRY FIRST. THE ONLY ADVANTAGE FOR THE AMERICANS IS THE CONSTITUTION, AN DINDEPENDANT COURT AND CONGRESS, WHICH MEANS TRUMP WILL EITHER BE IMPEACHED OR WILL LOOSE THE ELECTION IN 2020. THE RUSSIANS DON'T HAVE THAT. THE ONLY THING THEY HAVE IS WHAT THEY ARE DOING, THE STREETS TO DEMONSTRATE. THEY DONT HAVE INDEPENDENT POLITICAL PARTIES AND WHEN THERE IS AS SERIOUS person to politicly fight it out with Putin, he puts them in jail or they are found poisoned. Yes, the street is the only thing available but as the Russians are push against the wall more and more they will see that going out on the streets will become easier. Those soldiers have families and hopefully, the family will convince each one to side with the people because they are people too. My heart goes out to these young people and wish them luck! The Publisher of adamfoxie.blogspot.com BBC reports:
Image copyrightAFPImage captionIn fact, many Russians were waving or even wearing the Russian flag. Their idea was to walk down Tverskaya Street and protest simply by their presence.Many of the protesters have never known another Russian leader besides President Putin It was hard to spot the protesters at first on Moscow's main street. The vast majority were not carrying placards.
But the demonstration against corruption ended in mass detentions.
We watched as riot police in body armor and helmets formed snatch squads six men strong, shoved their way into the crowd and grabbed hundreds of protesters at random, sometimes brutally.
As soon as opposition leader Alexei Navalny called people into the city center to protest, rejecting the site allocated by the authorities, he was setting the stage for confrontation.
Thousands of people of all ages heeded his call in any case, but many were in their late teens and early twenties. This is a generation that has only ever known one leader - President Vladimir Putin - and some clearly are unhappy with that.
'Not afraid of Putin'
"I came because I don't like Putin and what we see on our TV is completely false. I want to change something," a protester called Kirill told the BBC. He described the event as "successful" despite the detentions.
"A lot of people came. They are not afraid of our police and Putin," he argued.
Image copyrightAFPImage captionAmong those arrested by Russian police was Maria Baronova, from the Open Russia movement
"The same people have been in power for 17 years. They steal, but nothing works here," a 16-year-old boy told a video team from Vedomosti newspaper. "We young people don't see a decent future."
The Kremlin spokesman shrugged off the protest as a "provocation" and argued that the police had simply restored order.
But the scenes in Moscow led one commentator to warn that Russia's political "temperature" was rising.
"The situation becomes more serious each time," Valery Solovei wrote on Facebook, suggesting more protests and more trouble to come.
Navalny team hails protest
The key driver of the protests is Alexei Navalny, the charismatic anti-corruption activist who has declared he will challenge Vladimir Putin for president in next year's election.
The rallies are partly about forcing the Kremlin to let him run, despite a suspended prison sentence for embezzlement, which he insists was politically motivated.
Now, sentenced to 30 days in police custody, he will not get to campaign for a while. But he recorded a typically defiant video statement before he was led out of court.
"I saw the pictures. You were great," Alexei Navalny told protesters. "Carry on working and fighting corruption."
Monday's protest was the second the activist had called in just over two months. The attendance in Moscow this time was lower, but there were rallies right across the country.
Organizers say crowds came out in more than 160 towns, double the number in March.
"That showed the strength of our campaign," Mr. Navalny's campaign manager told the team's YouTube channel, calling it the biggest "synchronized protest" since the 1990s.
"The whole country rose up... against corruption and injustice," Leonid Volkov claimed.
Critics scoffed at such talk.
The Moscow city government official responsible for security said no more than 5,000 people had protested in the capital. Compared with some 2.5 million people who had joined Russia Day celebrations, he called that a "paltry percentage".
Image copyrightAFPImage captionAlexei Navalny faces another 30 days in jail for organizing the unauthorized rally
Some here accuse Alexei Navalny of "sacrificing" young protesters in his own drive for power. Plenty, even in the opposition, disagrees with his confrontational style and methods.
But the activist's campaign to expose and fight corruption at the highest level is proving a powerful rallying call.
"I want to live in better conditions," another young man told the BBC, amid the crowd shouting "Russia will be free!" on the road that leads down to the Kremlin.
"I think our government can react," he said. "They must give us answers for their corruption; for their actions."
AFP
AFP
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