«Why vote when Putin decides anyway?»
ST. PETERSBURG AND MOSCOW: Young Russians are prepping for another six years of the same regime. The election in March is simple: Vote for Putin or stay home.
We have to make sure Putin is not democratically elected.
Oleg Snov (25)
«Will you be voting in March?»
In student housing in the middle of St. Petersburg, five Russian students sit around a kitchen table, eating pizza and drinking beer, wine, and the traditional beverage kvas. They are supposed to be studying humanities and political science at the European University, [but it was shut down in the summer by the government](1) – officially due to a missing teaching licence.
The debate around the table gets heated, when two of the guys starts to discuss the definition of liberalism. Is it an actual political ideology in today’s Russia, or is it just a name they’ve applied for the Kremlin opposition?
Despite their academic skills and good English, the word «vote» seems foreign to them. After a lot of back and forth, they finally understand the question is really about what they think of Vladimir Putin, the man who has run this vast country for the last 18 years. The best way to show your resistance, is to stay at home on the election day, they say. The former KGB agent is the only possible winner.
«There’s not really a thing called voting in Russia. Putin decides anyway,» one of them says.
The liberal movement is like a person who hasn’t had sex in a long time. The first person to say ‘yes’ is also going to be the best choice – and in this case it is Navalny.
Grigory Konnikov (21)
A single politician
A short distance away from the student flat, we meet with Grigory Konnikov at one of the city’s many hip coffee spots. Grigory is 21 years old, and studies Russian history at Saint Petersburg State University. He’s indignant about the political situation in the country.
«In Russia there is only one politician, and his name is Vladimir Putin. The whole system is a theater. This spring’s election is the best play that this theater could produce,» says Grisha, as he also likes to be called.
Although the upcoming election is pretty much set for Putin to win, it is not completely void of oppositional candidates. However, the opposition received a huge shot across the bow when its most popular candidate, Aleksei Navalny, was refused the right to run for election on December 25 last year.
The authorities justified it with a former fraud sentence, whereas the opposition, Navalny himself, and international observers, claim the decision was politically motivated. Navalny has gained a lot of momentum for his anti-corruption politics, especially with the Russian youth who are critical of Putin.
In Russia there is only one politician, and his name is Vladimir Putin
Grigory Konnikov (21)
Desperate opposition
Despite being the face of the opposition, even liberals consider Navalny controversial. Grigory points to a debate that occurred last summer between Navalny and Igor Strelkov. The latter is one of the generals who played a key role in the annexation of the Crimea, and he has been accused by the Ukrainian government of being responsible for murdering and torturing civilians.
«In the debate they were arguing which out of the two were the best nationalist,» said Grigory.
In a YouTube video from 2008, Navalny compares immigrants to insects that needs to be hit with a flyswatter, tramped on, or shot with a pistol. Grigory also believes the oppositional politician has strong connections with the government in the Kremlin.
«The liberal movement is like a person who hasn’t had sex in a long time. The first person to say ‘yes’ is also going to be the best choice – and in this case it is Navalny,» explained Grigory.
He is not very fond of the word ‘opposition,’ and speaks the word with a distinct irony and indignation – they are all «agents of the Kremlin,» he says.
«The best solution would be to ignore the whole show. You can talk about it, but don’t get yourself involved,» he says, and then adds:
«And don’t vote.»
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Lower turnout the only way out
On Sunday, Navalny was arrested in Moscow, after serious demonstrations in several Russian cities against the decision to shut him out from the presidential election. On the outskirts of Moscow we met with Oleg Snov, who is wearing campaign t-shirt with Navalny’s message. He is 25, writing a doctoral on political psychology, and is the regional leader for Navalny’s campaign in Siberia.
«Russia is far from being democratic, and we weren’t sure if we could see this through all the way to the end. But it was still a huge disappointment when we received the devastating news in December,» said Snov.
«What is the way forward now?
«We have to lower the turnout as much as possible, because now there is an election without any choice. We know that Putin is going to win in March, but we have to make sure that he’s not democratically elected,» Snov said.
The new generation
When the conversation starts to shift over to Navalny’s past and the infamous cockroach video, Oleg shifts in his chair. He tells us he expected those sort of questions from a Western journalist.
«I don’t agree with Navalny in absolutely everything, I am probably closer to the centre. The point is that he is able to bring something to the table that the others can’t. He has managed to get the younger generation interested in politics,» Oleg explains.
«Is Navalny a nationalist?»
«In a Russian context that’s a difficult word. He’s a politician for the new generation. Personally I believe some of the nationalists’ ideas can be used in the society,» he says.
Russians are used to being ruled by Ivan the Terrible, or Josef Stalin. Or Vladimir Putin.
Marta Vinogradova (22)
Used to Tsars
Despite the youth’s fervent protests and opposition, Vladimir Putin remains hugely popular to the average Russian. According to a survey conducted by the independent and international gallop agency WIN/GIA, he had a stunning 79 percent support in the Russian population in October 2017. That is an unusually high figure for a state leader who has held power for 17 years.
«Why is it like that?»
«Russians are used to being ruled by Ivan the Terrible, or Josef Stalin. Or Vladimir Putin,» says Marta Vinogradova, a 22-year old history student from Krasnodar, in the south of Russia.
Marta does not believe Putin to necessarily be as popular as the survey by WIN/GIA suggests. In a jungle of misinformation, she says, it is hard to distinguish the truth from what is manipulated.
«People who watch state television get scared of the rest of the world, and think Putin is the only one who can protect them against the West, and ‘homo-society.’ The propaganda functions very well,» says Marta.
«How do you see Russia in ten years from now?»
«I hope for a better future, a future without Putin. But he has destroyed all opportunity for any opposition, so he will rule until he dies,» she answers.
Putin supporter
Who are the many Russians that support the president? For two weeks we have been looking for a young Putin supporter. The president is probably far more popular in rural areas than in the big cities like Moscow and St. Petersburg.
Montesquieu once said that a happy nation has safe citizens. Right now it is much safer in Moscow than in other European cities.
Alexander Komkov (22)
Working at the Gulag Museum in Moscow we find Alexander Komkov. He does not study, but wants to start an IT festival in Russia. He is the first person we meet who supports the Russian political system.
«I’m going to vote for Putin in March,» Komkov said.
«Why?»
«He’s been doing a great job for a long time. Charles Montesquieu once said that a happy nation has safe citizens. Right now, it is much safer in Moscow than in other European cities. It’s because the FSB [The Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation, the KGB’s successor] has done an excellent job,» Alex says.
Nevertheless, the Russian society is not perfect, according to the 22-year-old. He thinks it’s a shame the political leadership is so old, and that Russia has a bad relationship with the West.
«But Putin is the best option we have, because there is no opposition – Navalny is a fraudulent crook,» he says.
«Is Russia democratic?
«We might have some things that are illegal, but Russia is not a dictatorship. If you want something changed, you have the opportunity to go to the authorities and say it. Everyone talks about problems, but no one is actually willing to do anything,» he answers.
Young interest
Alexander is an exception. For most of the students in Moscow and St. Petersburg, it seems like the most important thing is to stop Vladimir Putin. One of those opposing the status quo is Dmitry Sereda, who studies at the elite Higher School of Economics in Moscow. He is a proclaimed socialist, but would still consider voting for Navalny if he was able to run for the presidency, despite the political distance between them. After all, almost anything is better than Vladimir Putin.
«It is clearly obvious that Navalny is not perfect; he has shown chauvinistic and right-wing attitudes in the past. And you have to be careful about how you show him support,» he says.
Dmitry is reluctantly willing to give the oppositional leader his support because he now demonstrates a more «left-oriented rhetoric, that he’s a skilled politician, and that what he’s doing is really cool,» Dmitry explained.
«Navalny has gotten many young people interested in politics. That is a novelty in all of Russia’s history,» adds Dmitry.
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«We live in a dictatorship»
Russia’s long history of dictatorship, corruption and social inequality, are all explanations for the country’s problems today, according to Dmitry. 74.5 percent of Russia’s wealth was held by the top richest percentage in 2016, and Transparency International ranks Russia as equally corrupt as Iran, and even more corrupt than countries like Mexico, Malawi, and China.
«We were never given an opportunity to develop democratic institutions. In reality we live in a dictatorship, and that is Russia’s main problem,» says Dmitry.
Sometimes it feels like nothing ever changes, until suddenly it all changes overnight.
Dmitry Sereda (23)
«How much of it is Putin’s fault?»
«He’s clearly a part of the problem, and a part of the elite that took all the money and divided the country. It’s not as if we had a beautiful democracy which then Putin suddenly came and ruined. But he did ruin a lot.»
«How do you imagine Russia to look like in ten years from now?»
«There is no total apocalypse. At the same time, there is no reason to be optimistic about our future. I don’t see in any way for Russia to change drastically,» he says, and adds that only a few months before the 1917 revolutions, Lenin wrote that he would never bear witness to a Russian revolution.
«Russia’s story is unique,» says Dmitry. «Sometimes it feels like nothing ever changes, until suddenly it all changes overnight.»
