Post election observations

[mendeleyev]

It is estimated that the Interior Ministry has brought in close to 53,000 troops to patrol Moscow:

[mendeleyev]

Popular Russian anti-corruption crusader Alexei Nayalny was the one who coined “The Party of Liars and Thieves” as a euphemism for United Russia made this speech. He was arrested.

[siberia]

Glad you mentioned about Navalny's arrest.  Russian blogosphere is abuzz with this. Last I read he is facing 15 days in jail, along with Yashin who was arrested with him. What the heck is happening?

[CanadaMan]

Protests in places like the enclave of Kaliningrad:

I wonder if any of these protests will make it to the nightly TV news (in Russia)? 

[mendeleyev]

Siberia, his wife Yulia posted on his website that he was arrested and first held at the police station Северное Измайлово (Izmailovo). Later he and several others were transferred to the station at Китай-город (China Town). The blog has been silent since then. http://navalny.livejournal.com/



CanadaMan, Yes it has been on the news as events have continued to unfold. On the 4th-5th-6th there was little coverage but over time it has become difficult to ignore. However there aren't that many independent TV networks these days and so the "spin" will be on.

One channel was of special note; Dozhd (Rain). I did a piece on President Medvedev and this channel in the middle part of the year as Dozhd had invited the President in for a broadcast roundtable about Russians with disabilities. There are several Dozhd staffers with disabilities and it was important that the subject, heretofore always swept under the rug, be discussed in such a high profile forum.

Dozhd has had reporters at the various protest rally locations and when one covers a story, it forces the other channels at some point to cover it as well.

[mendeleyev]

What the heck is happening?

A wake up call in the big white house over on the river and at the mansion out in Gorki, for certain.

We may be seeing the beginning of the end or if the government uses force and is determined, with military backing, to stamp out the protests then this will be the end of the beginning.

Serious stuff.

[mendeleyev]

Popular Russian anti-corruption crusader Alexei Nayalny was arrested shortly after making the speech shown in the video above.


Alexei Nayalny, centre.

[Muzh]

Popular Russian anti-corruption crusader Alexei Nayalny was arrested shortly after making the speech shown in the video above.


Alexei Nayalny, centre.

I'm assuming that the bruises and bloody lip were self-inflicted.

[mendeleyev]

Of course. 

My police captain cousin will argue all day long that a prisoner must be subdued, brought into a sufficiently compliant state, handcuffed and in some cases questioned before a formal arrest. That is the polite way of saying to beat the crap out of a suspect, be certain something is bleeding/broken, then handcuffed, and if needed ask some questions (heaven forbid you've got the wrong person, etc) before making the formal arrest.

Police operate on the assumption that everyone resists arrest so why not "beat" them to the "punch" so to speak.

On a equally serious note Muzh, this is after he was cleaned up. Sources say that it looked worse before the photos were taken.

[Muzh]

On a equally serious note Muzh, this is after he was cleaned up. Sources say that it looked worse before the photos were taken.

My, can't take that guy anywhere. He's so messy. 

[mendeleyev]

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has said that protestors have "every right to protest as long as they do so within the law" and seemed to affirm the right of the opposition to air their political views. He also offered to meet with opposition leaders to hear their concerns about last Sunday's Duma elections.
We can only assume that this means he will meet with opposition leaders after they are released from jail as several were arrested in the days right after the election. The Prime Minister affirmed the right of citizens to protest but failed to disclose that protest laws in Russia are restrictive and oddly, when groups do file applications for a protest only rarely are such permits approved, effectively making any protest an illegal activity.
 



Mr. Putin also lashed at at Washington, specifically blaming US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for the unrest by saying that she had spoken too soon after the election about election violations instead of waiting to hear from international observers on how the elections were conducted. Secretary Clinton did indeed speak swiftly on the election results and perhaps should have waited a day or so, but at the same time Mr. Putin conveniently failed to mention that many of those international observers were hampered in getting to the election stations and several key  observers were detained when attempting to gain entry into Russia.



What is clear is that the "reset" between Washington and Moscow is history. In fact, it was never reset in Mr. Putin's view anyway and as he approaches re-election to Russia's top post in March of 2012, he is free to express his true feelings about Obama's attempts at a "reset" between the two powers. Putin has never liked Obama and we use the expression "never liked" very lightly. Even without a flawed election the return of Mr. Putin to the Presidency was destined to end the "reset" anyway.
 
Over the coming months you can expect Mr. Putin to privately express his desire to the US administration that Secretary Clinton be replaced. With his own re-election in question, US President Obama will not likely act on that request and so relations between Moscow and Washington will continue to sour. Obama will instead act on the planned change of Ambassador to Russia, pulling current Ambassador John Beyrle in favour of Michael McFaul, a senior adviser to Obama on Russia. McFaul's approval is hung up in the US Senate.
Frankly, McFaul is no match for Ambassador Beyrle, and the Obama move will be a serious mistake long-term. Three years into the Obama administration is a little late for rewarding first term election supporters and Obama would be wise to withdraw the McFaul nomination.

[mendeleyev]

Today in the Mendeleyev Journal:

So is there a bright spot in all the election unrest and the protests?

Yes.

For starters, Russians are no longer just passive about the voting process. One popular blogger captured the change in attitude by his own experience as a first-time protester on 6 December in Moscow. We invited you to share in Anatoly Kats' story, found here: http://tolik-kats.livejournal.com/665.html

[siberia]

http://www.airpano.ru/360Degree-VirtualTour-inactive.php?3D=Moscow-Bolotnaya-Square-Rally


In case you are interested in seeing today's (December 10th) "Meeting".  Very cool panoramic so you can see how many people turned out.


No turning back now.

[Muzh]

http://www.airpano.ru/360Degree-VirtualTour-inactive.php?3D=Moscow-Bolotnaya-Square-Rally


In case you are interested in seeing today's (December 10th) "Meeting".  Very cool panoramic so you can see how many people turned out.


No turning back now.

I hope you are right. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

[Faux Pas]

http://www.airpano.ru/360Degree-VirtualTour-inactive.php?3D=Moscow-Bolotnaya-Square-Rally


In case you are interested in seeing today's (December 10th) "Meeting".  Very cool panoramic so you can see how many people turned out.


No turning back now.

I couldn't get the link to work. 

[siberia]

I couldn't get the link to work. 

I just clicked it, it worked for me. I don't know what is wrong that it did not work for you.

[mendeleyev]

Siberia, nice pano! Thanks for sharing that link.

[Faux Pas]

I just clicked it, it worked for me. I don't know what is wrong that it did not work for you.

It just worked for me. Don't know why it didn't earlier. 

[mendeleyev]

As featured in the Mendeleyev Journal--

Wow, what an interesting time to be in the Russian Duma. Located across from the Manezh Square and near Red Square, the Russian Federation Duma has to be one of the most unpopular places in Russia at the moment. As former leaders and protesters are calling for new elections, President Dmitry Medvedev has decided that the newly elected parliament must get down to business and has ordered the body to convene Wednesday of next week, 21 December.


Борис Вячеславович Грызлов (Boris Gryzlov), the leader of the Duma has decided to resign and will not take his seat. That is perhaps a wise move, especially if he has future political aspirations. No matter the outcome there will be a stigma attached to this Duma for years to come.


The oldest member will be Communist Party representative Vladimir Dolgikh, who is 87 years old. The youngest will be a 27 year old Playboy Playmate, Мария Александровна Кожевникова (Mariya Kozhevnikova) who was voted as Maxim magazine's "sexiest woman in Russia" earlier this year.



The new face, well ah, body of the Russian Duma: Мария Кожевникова (Mariya Kozhevnikova).


Citizens have called on the Duma to become more of a deliberative body in Russian political life. We can only imagine what kind of deliberating will go on with Ms. Kozhevnikova sitting there.



Russian Duma deputy Mariya Kozhevnikova.


Did we mention that Ms. Kozhevnikova was voted as Maxim magazine's "sexiest woman" in Russia earlier this year? We did? Just checking.


Surely she will become a central figure in Russian politics, dominating the halls of the Duma.



Kozhevnikova, voted as Maxim magazine's "sexiest woman" in Russia and then elected as a United Russia party Parliament deputy.


Kozhevnikova is a star in the "Univer" television series and was Russian Playboy's front-page girl in 2009. Prior to the election Prime Minister Vladimir Putin had stressed that ruling party United Russia should renew the party with fresh faces. Well, maybe that explains her success at the ballot box.



A photo of Medvedev and Putin, two of her political heroes is mounted on her office wall.


She will be joined in the parliament by another popular new United Russia deputy, singer Иосиф Давыдович Кобзон (Iosif/Joseph Kobzon). Kobzon is well known for jetting around Moscow with his silver Mercedes and bodyguards. His fame as a singer began during the Soviet period.



Kobzon was born to Jewish parents in the mining town of Chasiv Yar, in the Donbass region of Ukraine.


He is known for his "crooning" style of singing Romantic ballads and has performed with many Western superstars, including Julio Iglesias and Liza Minnelli.


There will be many high profile Russians in the Duma again this term. United Russia's former Olympic gymnast Alina Kabayeva and wrestling champion Alexander Karelin were both re-elected. However observers say that given the turmoil surrounding the election, it is doubtful that this parliament can wield much political influence.

[mendeleyev]

Quick feed from the Mendeleyev Journal:

In just 15 minutes from publication of this notice Prime Minister Putin will take to the airwaves, this being the 10th call-in forum since the second year of his first term as president in December 2001. The show was originally scheduled a few days earlier in the month but the Prime Minister decided to delay the forum until after the Duma elections which were held on 4 December.

Mr. Putin has pledged not to use the forum to campaign for president and will be asked to comment on the recent post election protests, the largest at Bolotnaya Ploshchad in central Moscow on Saturday where tens of thousands came out to urge Putin to give up power.

He is expected to say that the protests are a legitimate way to express opinions but that they should be conducted in a lawful manner. That is a difficult task as officials have been known to routinely deny permits needed for public assembly and police have earned the reputation of quickly using force to disperse citizens.

It is unknown as to whether he will comment on former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev's suggestion for new Duma elections and on the challenge from former ally and Russian billionaire businessman Mikhail Prokhorov.

Those reading this in the current Moscow time zone may watch the show on video here: http://www.moskva-putinu.ru/video.htm Viewers/listeners may call in at 8-800-200-40-40 or text a question or comment to 0-40-40.

The call-in forum will be hosted on Rossiya1 and broadcast nationally on TV and Radio networks.

For our Russian readers; Позвонить в единый центр обработки информации из любой точки России можно по телефону 8-800-200-40-40. Звонок с городских и мобильных телефонов - бесплатный.

Вопросы в виде SMS-сообщений принимаются на номер 0-40-40. Отправка по России с телефонов любого оператора связи - бесплатная.

[mendeleyev]

(Repost from the Moscow Times)

Election Fraud Guide for Foreigners     
16 December 2011 By Michele A. Berdy   

Фальсификация: fraud, often said of election results

Thanks for tuning in to WTMT radio! It's the top of the hour here in Moscow, and we'll return to our nonstop coverage of political events right after this brief commercial message.

Sleepless? Anxious? Frustrated? Is Google Translate mangling the Russian news stories you're reading? Do you understand the words but miss the allusions in protest banners? Do you wish you could understand what people are saying in those YouTube videos at polling places?

Help is here! For anyone struggling to negotiate the linguistic puzzles of the new Russian political activism, we've developed a new multimedia guide: "Russian Election Fraud for Foreigners."

In this guide we'll help you understand the various terms — both wonky and slangy — for election fraud. For example, we'll examine how general фальсификация (falsification, vote-rigging) differs from вброс бюллетеней (ballot-stuffing). We'll go back in time to understand the origins of the phrase подтасовка результатов голосования (vote-rigging). Did you know that подтасовка comes from the verb подтасовать, and originally meant dealing a card from the bottom of the deck? In video clips you'll see for yourself how бюллетени (ballots) are pulled out from under coats — just like a card from the bottom of a deck — and stuffed into the ballot box.

Have you been wondering what a children's ride — карусель (carousel) — has to do with elections? Wonder no more! We'll show you the testimony of students paid to circle around the city, stopping at избирательные участки (polling places) to cast their votes over and over again.

Then the guide will take you right into the thick of митинги (demonstrations), where you'll hear for yourself how демонстранты скандируют (demonstrators chant). We'll listen to those кричалки (shouted slogans) together. And not just the simple ones, like Верните честные выборы! (Give us back fair elections!); Перевыборы! (New elections!); Парламент — ширма для воров! (The parliament is a screen for thieves!); and Требуем пересчёта голосов! (We demand a recount!).

We'll also decipher those oh-so-puzzling abbreviations, like ЦИК — министерство лжи (The Central Elections Commission is the Ministry of Lies).

We'll look around at the banners, too. Some might be easy to understand, like the illustrated Я не баран (I'm not a sheep). But what about the one with a drawing of Vladimir Putin holding a woman painted in the Russian tricolor as the embodiment of the nation? What does the matching text Третий раз не дадим mean? Our guide will show you the slang meaning of давать (to give) — to put out sexually — and you'll be able to translate the banner yourself like a pro: Russia won't put out a third time!

Our guide isn't afraid of racy language either. Broadcast standards don't allow us to show you all those signs right now, but you'll see how prefixes combine work with basic verbs of action to produce signs that mean "We've been screwed over!"

And what about that sign that reads Свобода! Равенство! Упячка! (Freedom! Equality! … huh?) We'll show you the site — upyachka.ru — where this made-up, nonsense word comes from. Maybe you'll be cooler than us and get why fake words, dancing stick figures, and cartoon cats eating popcorn are funny. We'll also reveal the hidden abbreviation in the banner — С.Р.У. It is the first-person singular of the verb срать (to crap on something). Get it? See how easy it is?

You're already on the fast-track to becoming a political and linguistic insider!

Russia's political life just got interesting! Don't miss out on the linguistic fun. Get WTMT's "Guide to Russian Election Fraud for Foreigners" now. Available wherever fine newspapers are distributed.

And now — back to our regularly scheduled programming.

[mendeleyev]

From the Mendeleyev Journal:

Pardon us for not believing the words of government, any government for that matter, at first. Immediately following the voter protests in Moscow, and especially the large protest on 10 December, the government reported that the number of protesters assembled on Болотной площади (Bolotnaya Square) were in the "few thousands" and arrests at a "few hundred."


Unfortunately government is having to eat its own words as journalists have revealed that the government had reliable information all along and crowd estimates are now set at between 50,000-60,000 for that protest gathering.





Initially the government has issued a permit for a legal demonstration of 300 people at Revolution Square just outside the Red Square area. However a Facebook campaign was gaining traction and by 8 December the government hastily reissued a permit for 30,000 persons on 10 December on Bolotnaya Square.



On the day of the protest the government cut cell photo service in the immediate area making it difficult for groups and individuals to communicate when in the permitted areas.


Police patroled and for the most part arrests were at a minimum. However as numbers have come to light, the real number of arrests as reported officially is over 1,000 instead of a "few hundred" as government first reported.



In the ensuing days officials attempted to disrupt the protests. The head of Russia’s public health Ministry, Gennady Onishchenko, issued a statement that protesters were in danger of contacting and spreading the flu or SARS respiratory infections such. The police went public with warnings that police would be checking for draft dodgers at the protests.



Moscow school students were ordered to appear for an unscheduled exam that just happened to coincide with the time of the demonstration. A special mandatory class was scheduled immediately following the exam.



Russian media, mostly state controlled, tried to ignore the growing protests but soon the Internet will filled with news and with European and other international television providing coverage the Russian channels were eventually forced to cover the events.






Other sizable protests were held around the country on the same day. The next large demonstration is scheduled in Moscow on 24 December. (Note: While 24 December is Christmas Eve in the West, Christmas in much of the East and Asia will come on 6-7 January.)






Generally peaceful, Moscow's 10 December demonstration ended by singing of Viktor Tsoi's  перемен ("Changes") a popular song from late 80s during the final days of the Soviet Union.





(photos from http://www.airpano.ru/360Degree-VirtualTour.php?3D=Moscow-Bolotnaya-Square-Rally)

[mendeleyev]

Click on any of the photos above and they'll expand...very dramatic.

By mistake I posted one photo twice above and if I go in to edit, this forum software for some reason messes with the margins and font sizes when photos are included and erases any youtube videos that are in the post. So I'll play it safe and post the remaining, 4th photo below.

(Same photo credits as above).

CLICK EACH PHOTO TO EXPAND.

[mendeleyev]

Massive protest in Moscow--details in the Mendeleyev Journal.

За честные выборы! (For fair elections!) was the scene Saturday in cities all across Russia. Protesters swelled the streets of cities like Moscow, St Petersburg, and as far away as Vladivostok wearing giant white balloons shaped as condoms. Many had posters of Vladimir Putin smiling while wearing a white condom on his lapel.


One of the most creative displays was a Moscow scene in which large white helium filled balloons carried a giant poster of Mr. Putin up in the air and then as he was blown away with the wind, the crowd waved goodbye to the Prime Minister. This strong reaction came after last week's nationwide call-in show in which Mr. Putin sarcastically commented that he thought the white ribbons that protesters wore in demonstrations against his government and the early December Duma elections were white condoms as a show of support for HIV victims.






Braving freezing temperatures, thousands of Russians jammed Moscow's Sakharov Avenue (проспект Сахаров) yesterday to demand free elections and an end to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's 12-year rule. Experts say it is the largest sign of public outrage since the protests 20 years ago that help bring down the Soviet Union.


We believe that several serious challenges now sit at the Putin/Medvedev doorstep:
1- The protests are organized and growing. Although promoted in the social media since on-air television and radio signals are largely controlled by government, the face of the protesters is changing. Today's protests drew a wide variety of ages, from young software engineers in St Petersburg to angry but determined seniors in Volgograd to upwardly mobile folk in Moscow to truck drivers in Vladivostok. It is too late to try and isolate the protesters into a single demographic group.


2- Unlike in earlier protests immediately following the Duma elections, the opposition groups are cooperating with each other. That they are cooperating and mixing well despite the release last week of pirated telephone conversations by several opposition leaders commenting on each other, is a set-back for the government's political spin-masters.






How many attended? The government claims about 30,000 and the opposition says 100,000. Many observers say that this event was bigger and appeared to be better organized than the protest on December 10. However live reports from government controlled Russia Today TV played down the attendance numbers but after the event RT adopted the higher figure of 50,000 in televised and wire updates.





Popular blogger Alexei Navalny, a corruption-fighting lawyer and public activist, took to the stage and delighted the crowd as they chanted "We are the power!" Navalny is credited with coining the phrase about ruling party United Russia being "the party of crooks and thieves." Navalny had been arrested and reportedly roughed up by police for the unsanctioned protest on 5 December. He spent 15 days in jail for that charge.






Russian writer Boris Akunin whose personal blog was hacked early last week asked the crowd if they wanted Putin to return for a third term as president? The crowd shouted back, Nyet! (No!)


Other speakers included Alexi Kudrin, the former Finance Minister for the Russian Federation who was recently fired by President Medvedev. PM Putin called Kudrin "a friend" in Putin's recent national call-in show but today Kudrin labeled the elections as flawed and called for snap elections.


When it came to reaction to the Kremlin's recent proposed reforms as outlined in Thursday's Federal Assembly speech by President Medvedev, opposition leader Boris Nemtsov told the crowd that, "We don't want him." Nemtsov went on to say that "A thief must not sit in the Kremlin."


Even former Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev got in the act during an afternoon interview on Moscow Echo radio. Gorbachev who is now 80, told the audience that Putin should step down after already serving two terms as president and another as prime minister. Gorbachev advised Putin that stepping down now would solidify the positive things he has accomplished instead of wearing out his welcome with the Russian people.





Recently announced presidential candidate Mikhail Prokhorov may have given his supporters more confidence today. Although he didn't speak on stage, Prokhorov attended the rally and told members of the press that if elected his first official action would be to dissolve the contested parliament and immediately call for new elections.


Former world chess champion Garry Kasparov flew in from New York to address the crowd. Kasparov said that the government is afraid and "They are huddled up in fear behind police cordons."


Police were present in large numbers but the crowd was well managed and few confrontations between protesters and police could be seen. As the rally concluded in darkness there was a flare-up between nationalist youth who support Prime Minister Putin and some of the protesters.



Organizers of Saturday's protest say their goal is a rerun of the parliamentary vote and to prevent fraud in the coming presidential election in March 2012.
All photos courtesy of photojournalist Ilya Varlamov (http://zyalt.livejournal.com)

[mendeleyev]

From today's Mendeleyev Journal


Protest organizers in Moscow say that over 40,000 have signed up on various social media sites for another day of protest in Russia, this one for tomorrow, the 7th of January, Christmas day. Speakers will include former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. Mr Gorbachev, now 80, has been critical of the elections, but had not appeared at any of the protests although he did address the crowd on 24 December from the studios of Moscow's radio Echo, a popular independent talk radio station.

 
 


Opposition leaders dismiss promises from the Medvedev administration promising changes for the future, although one gets the feeling that if Medvedev's proposals had target dates for achieving those goals, the opposition just might begin to listen.





On 25 December a judge ordered Sergei Udaltsov back to jail. Udaltsov is the leader of the Left Front socialist party and a frequent protester against the government.

 



The 24 December protest led to approximately 60 arrests but even with those the overall police response to the series of public protests, which began immediately after the Duma parliamentary elections on 4 December, has been surprisingly low-key. Frankly, and especially under the Putin years, it was far more common for police to react far more aggressively and with violent force to citizen protests.


The lack of a violent crackdown is a testament to the leadership of President Dmitry Medvedev as opposed to what Russians had come to expect in police operations under Vladimir Putin. We can only hope that this trend will continue.


Police had originally claimed that only 20 to 40 thousand had attended the 24 December event but entry was controlled by police checkpoints with metal detectors and now officials have been forced to admit that well over 80,000 persons were in attendance.