'Fear Of A...Rash Step'?
Police, particularly in Moscow, appeared unusually restrained at the January 28 boycott rallies -- possibly giving an insight into thinking in the Kremlin as the election approaches. Over 1,000 detentions were made in the capital at a rally in March, compared to 16 on Sunday.
Speaking on a weekly current affairs show on Ekho Moskvy on January 29, Russian political expert Nikolai Petrov said this suggests the authorities are being careful not to create lines of tension or to anger protesters in the runup to the election. “It seems to me it is entirely evident that the change is linked to the approach of the elections. And the fear of the authorities to take a rash step that might provoke action from the other side.”
Here's video of the police in the office of Navalny's Anticorruption Foundation, interrupting their coverage of the boycott protests and taking them off the Internet.
An FB post by Ekho Moskvy editor Aleksei Venediktov argues that candidate Sobchak's trip to Grozny proves her campaign is a Putin project.
"The opportunity with a guarantee of comfort and security to fly into the realm of Ramzan Kadyrov and hold a campaign show in order to pick up some points on the moral plane is tasteless vulgarity, in my view -- extraordinary even by our standards."
Photo of Putin making a campaign visit to a maternity hospital, via independent journalist Oleg Kashin's on Facebook. That's a mannequin down there "giving birth."
Yavlinsky going to the voters with a new (Lenin-inspired?) look. His campaign will file its signatures with the Central Election Commission tomorrow.
Video of Yabloko co-founder and expected candidate Grigory Yavlinsky slamming Russian state TV journalists for coming to all of his events but never broadcasting anything he says. Very interesting exchange.
Are Communists trying to pinch barred opposition leader Navalny's anticorruption mantle?
Newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta seems to think so, as it notes that the Russian Communist Party's latest plenum was dedicated entirely to combating corruption, while their election candidate, Pavel Grudinin, recently called for a National Anticorruption Bureau to be set up. The paper suggests the Communists are trying to court and co-opt the protesting segment of the population that is disgruntled with graft.
Opposition candidate Dmitry Gudkov argues for Meduza that the election is more a struggle with country's past than a contest against Putin.
'The Mathematics Of A Boycott'
In Snob.ru, political analyst Dmitry Oreshkin crunches the numbers and looks at the utility of an election boycott by Putin's foes. It's an interesting look at the mathematics of a boycott that is well worth a read.
He acknowledges the tactic's desirability to some, but also suggests that there are other tactics that could send a message, too, such as spoiling a ballot or voting for anyone but the incumbent.