Grassroots political activism in Russia

Abstract

Russian protests of 2011-2012 revitalised the country's political life. Hoping for a change, citizens were looking for opposition leaders to represent them in their dialogue with the authorities. However, the opposition failed to maintain its support and attract new followers over time, and this paper analyses why it happened. To answer the question, we analysed the long-term consequences of state-organised repression and institutionalisation. Our results showed that repression is not the only reason for the loss of support of the opposition. Limited radicalisation, premature institutionalisation, and disconnection of the opposition from civil society played a vital role in this process. Even though these were the main characteristics of the For Fair Elections movent, this research argues that the Russian opposition did not outgrow them ten years later. Keywords: Russia, protests, political opposition, repression, civil society