Source: KCRW’s To the Point
Monday, June 12 marked one of Russia’s most extensive days of political protest in recent history. Police in 200 cities were out in force and at least 700 protesters have been arrested so far. Demonstrators also had to share the streets with people colorfully dressed in historical costumes for a Russian holiday. Carnegie’s Andrew Weiss explained that, while disruptive, the protests are unlikely to immediately destabilize the regime:
“There are a lot of young people who are no longer tuning into state television who get their news through their mobile devices and social media, and there’s a sort of irreverence that comes through in these demonstrations. . . . But broadly speaking, the Russian elite are consolidated at the moment. They’ve rallied around the flag in the wake of the war in Crimea and tensions with the United States. Typically in Russia, problems emerge when the elite is disunified and we just haven’t seen that yet.”