The recent visible and vibrant, large and peaceful protests in Russia against alleged fraud in the parliamentary elections on December 4th has surprised everyone. There was no hint of these protests. Again, social media were the platform for mass communication.
There were other surprising elements: the protesters, while peaceful and friendly, were pretty harsh on Vladmir Putin; the Russian Television presented the protests in a neutral fashion including the harsh comments of thr protesters; the protesters and the police were friendly.
Congratulations to Russian authorities including Dmitry Medvedev and Vladimir Putin, the Russian media and the Russian citizenry for such democratic and peaceful expression of discontent and dissatisfaction. It appears that Putin after 12 years of leadership and tight control over the levers of power is beginning to evoke strong adverse feelings at least among some of the Russian citizenry.
Here is an interesting article in The Economist: http://www.economist.com/blogs/easternapproaches/2011/12/protest-russia-0
Tags: Dmitry Medvedev, Parliament, Russia, The Economist, Vladimir Putin
