Russia: Revolution or political evolution?
Vladimir Putin is in the firing line as thousands of protesters across Russia reject parliamentary election results.
Protests took place across Russia on Saturday, as tens of thousands hit the streets against Vladimir Putin, the Russian prime minister. It was the biggest show of defiance to Putin’s rule since he came to power more than a decade ago.
The rallies came as last week’s parliamentary elections saw Putin’s United Russia Party win a majority in the lower house, in the Duma. But accusations of widespread fraud tainted the vote.
So what does it mean for Russia’s strongman and his plans to return to the presidency? And could this be just the beginning?
Inside Story, with presenter Hazem Sika, discusses with guests Dimitry Babich, a political commentator for Russia Profile magazine; Najam Abbas, a senior fellow at East West Institute – a think tank focusing on Central Asia and post-Soviet states; and Anna Matveaeva, a Russia analyst.
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“The society has changed and politics perhaps did not matter for Russians 10 years ago because they were kind of fed up with politics under Yeltsin, so they wanted stability and Putin brought that stability. But now politcs has started to matter again.” Anna Matveaeva, a Russia analyst |