The Russian opposition continues to endure constant hounding
Recently, the Kremlin has resorted to its standard method of using Gopniki [a pejorative term to refer to aggressive young lower-class suburban male dwellers coming from families of poor education and income – FRF] and Siloviki [security and law-enforcement structures – FRF] to carry out harassment.
Now the poorly educated and mercenary young people ready to execute any tasks for paltry monetary rewards, are after Fmr. Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov, one of the Russian opposition leaders.
The Russian leadership has utilized gopniki to carry out stunts like this for many years. When the Kremlin youth movement “Nashi” (“Ours”) was at the zenith of fame, many of its members and activists carried out acts of hooliganism.
Since Russia has become more isolated in recent years, Nashi has taken a backseat to the National Liberation Movement, Young Guard of United Russia, and similar organizations. These aggressive groups, along with Ramzan Kadyrov’s legions of devoted armed thugs known as “Kadyrovtsy” routinely chase and harass Russian opposition members and liberal journalists.
Last week, a group of unknown people speaking with a recognizable Chechen accent threw a cake at one of the Russian opposition leaders Mikhail Kasyanov while he had dinner in a restaurant. The attackers verbally insulted him and accused of treachery. Many people found it laughable, but similar incidents that happened to Nemtsov led ultimately to his grisly death in central Moscow. The attack in a restaurant strongly implies that Kasyanov was under surveillance, since the attackers knew exactly where he was spending his evening. This was a private dinner, not a public event.
Two days later, there was a new attack and some people threw eggs at Kasyanov’s car. A few days later Putin’s supporters blocked Kasyanov in a dressing room of a hotel in Nizhny Novgorod. When Kasyanov got out of there after the police arrived, NOD activists showered him with insults and tried to hit him.
Vladimir Putin’s supporters ridiculed the opposition leader for the fact that he filed a complaint about this incident. Even some opposition activists, who receive similar threats, are very reluctant to go to the police, as reporting the incident would lead to further ridicule.
In our opinion, on the contrary, the lack of reaction from law-enforcement authorities implies a connection between the Russian authorities and the criminals that carry out these incidents. A folder with official documents refusing to initiate legal proceedings would not be excessive since it is considerable evidence of the Kremlin’s complicit attitude towards harassing dissent.
A former senator of the Russian Federation, Konstantin Dobrynin, tweeted the following recently: “Kasyanov, you can like or dislike him, is a former Prime Minister of Russia after all. Of Russia! And this harassment humiliates all of us. And the President, too,”
For several years, dozens of Nashi thugs followed Nemtsov with scoop-nets and urine as well. Last year, somewhere between fifty and seventy thousand mourners marched through Moscow to pay their respects and bid Nemtsov farewell after he was gunned down in Moscow.
TV host Andrey Bocharov rightly pointed out on Facebook that showering opposition figures with eggs and other food is quite a deliberate policy of dehumanization. Members of the opposition can be freely mocked, humiliated and laughed at. And when the society no longer sees the person behind that humiliation, then it is possible for these thugs to take the next step and kill him.
This year, in September, there will be elections to the State Duma and regional legislatures in Russia. Kasyanov, as a leader of the PARNAS political party and one of the leaders of the Democratic Coalition, will play a significant role in the elections. And it’s already obvious that in addition to the administrative obstacles the Kremlin specializes in, the “Gopniki machine” will be also be deployed against him and his supporters.
Gopniki are constantly used during the Russian elections. And it is noteworthy that Gopniki and activists of the youth wing of the ruling party “United Russia” are often one and the same. For example, in the municipal elections in St. Petersburg in 2014, young candidates of the “United Russia” threw a liquid of a strange consistency at opposition members outraged by numerous violations, and they poured kefir [sour milk] on journalists.
This will no doubt be followed by the Kremlin releasing statements to the international community that there was a free, fair election in Russia which resulted in the formation of a legitimate parliament. And as before, it will be a lie.
by Aleksandra Garmazhapova
columnist of Free Russia Foundation
Now the poorly educated and mercenary young people ready to execute any tasks for paltry monetary rewards, are after Fmr. Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov, one of the Russian opposition leaders.
The Russian leadership has utilized gopniki to carry out stunts like this for many years. When the Kremlin youth movement “Nashi” (“Ours”) was at the zenith of fame, many of its members and activists carried out acts of hooliganism.
Since Russia has become more isolated in recent years, Nashi has taken a backseat to the National Liberation Movement, Young Guard of United Russia, and similar organizations. These aggressive groups, along with Ramzan Kadyrov’s legions of devoted armed thugs known as “Kadyrovtsy” routinely chase and harass Russian opposition members and liberal journalists.
Last week, a group of unknown people speaking with a recognizable Chechen accent threw a cake at one of the Russian opposition leaders Mikhail Kasyanov while he had dinner in a restaurant. The attackers verbally insulted him and accused of treachery. Many people found it laughable, but similar incidents that happened to Nemtsov led ultimately to his grisly death in central Moscow. The attack in a restaurant strongly implies that Kasyanov was under surveillance, since the attackers knew exactly where he was spending his evening. This was a private dinner, not a public event.
Two days later, there was a new attack and some people threw eggs at Kasyanov’s car. A few days later Putin’s supporters blocked Kasyanov in a dressing room of a hotel in Nizhny Novgorod. When Kasyanov got out of there after the police arrived, NOD activists showered him with insults and tried to hit him.
Vladimir Putin’s supporters ridiculed the opposition leader for the fact that he filed a complaint about this incident. Even some opposition activists, who receive similar threats, are very reluctant to go to the police, as reporting the incident would lead to further ridicule.
In our opinion, on the contrary, the lack of reaction from law-enforcement authorities implies a connection between the Russian authorities and the criminals that carry out these incidents. A folder with official documents refusing to initiate legal proceedings would not be excessive since it is considerable evidence of the Kremlin’s complicit attitude towards harassing dissent.
A former senator of the Russian Federation, Konstantin Dobrynin, tweeted the following recently: “Kasyanov, you can like or dislike him, is a former Prime Minister of Russia after all. Of Russia! And this harassment humiliates all of us. And the President, too,”
For several years, dozens of Nashi thugs followed Nemtsov with scoop-nets and urine as well. Last year, somewhere between fifty and seventy thousand mourners marched through Moscow to pay their respects and bid Nemtsov farewell after he was gunned down in Moscow.
TV host Andrey Bocharov rightly pointed out on Facebook that showering opposition figures with eggs and other food is quite a deliberate policy of dehumanization. Members of the opposition can be freely mocked, humiliated and laughed at. And when the society no longer sees the person behind that humiliation, then it is possible for these thugs to take the next step and kill him.
This year, in September, there will be elections to the State Duma and regional legislatures in Russia. Kasyanov, as a leader of the PARNAS political party and one of the leaders of the Democratic Coalition, will play a significant role in the elections. And it’s already obvious that in addition to the administrative obstacles the Kremlin specializes in, the “Gopniki machine” will be also be deployed against him and his supporters.
Gopniki are constantly used during the Russian elections. And it is noteworthy that Gopniki and activists of the youth wing of the ruling party “United Russia” are often one and the same. For example, in the municipal elections in St. Petersburg in 2014, young candidates of the “United Russia” threw a liquid of a strange consistency at opposition members outraged by numerous violations, and they poured kefir [sour milk] on journalists.
This will no doubt be followed by the Kremlin releasing statements to the international community that there was a free, fair election in Russia which resulted in the formation of a legitimate parliament. And as before, it will be a lie.
by Aleksandra Garmazhapova
columnist of Free Russia Foundation