Today around 3500 people marched against the current prime minister, Vladimir Putin, in St. Petersburg. It's about a week before the election that will probably put Putin back in the Kremlin.
Even though the rally had official sanction, there were police forces present, though no one was arrested, despite slogans like "Putin is a thief" being yelled. However, this rally has been one of the smallest since those before the (most likely rigged) Parliamentary elections. It's looking incredibly probable that Putin will win the March 4th election and become president again, despite the two term limit that he served before the current president, Dimitri Medvedev.
Even though Putin has been extremely successful in bringing Russia back to the global power it once was, Russia's population has been increasingly disillusioned to the corrupt government. The change in Duma representation has worked to Putin's advantage, though if he was forced into a second round of voting, it would severely weaken his momentum.
Some opposing political party leaders are calling for protest if a second round of voting does not begin.
I think with the increased dissatisfaction in the government, it wouldn't be surprising if a second round of voting did take place. However, if there isn't, there's also a high chance that the elections were rigged by Putin. I doubt that there's going to be any Arab Spring type of movement since the power that the government wields over its people is too great, but I wouldn't be surprised if there are more protests.
No comments:
Post a Comment