Staring at shadows: Moscow’s Kremlin at night. CC: ePsilon / Flickr. Some rights reserved.Writings on contemporary Russia are mostly variations on the same subject: Vladimir Putin; his rise to and iron grip on power. Western journalism and punditry on the state of the country is no different. Even when the subject isn’t explicitly Putin, Russia’s “first person” is inevitably the ultimate focus. This focus is evident even in the ways “Putin” functions as both a possessive noun and metonym — “Putin’s Russia”, “Putin’s Kleptocracy”, “Putin’s Wars”. It’s as if unlocking the secret to Putin will reveal the truth of Russia.
It’s understandable why Kremlin intrigue tickles most analysts’ fancy, but examining today’s Russia “from below” bears untapped analytical promise. At a time when Russia’s liberal opposition is at a low, other forms of grassroots political activity, particularly around social and economic issues, are experiencing a new lease on life. A recent report by the Center for Economic and Political Reform finds that in the second quarter of 2016, there were 263 labour related protests in 65 of Russia’s 85 regions, up from 229 in the first quarter. The majority of these protests (171) are related to perennial problem of wage arrears.
Unlike opposition protests in the capital, these incidents garner little attention, even in Russia’s federal press. Most are local, are aimed at employers, minigarchs, real estate developers and local officials, and rarely gather enough steam to capture federal attention. Nor are these actions explicitly against Putin. In fact, most supplicants strategically appeal “to the president” as a means to draw recognition (and perhaps even a resolution) to their plight.
