Istanbul Gelisim University - Protests in Russia run from Putin's own circle

Protests in Russia run from Putin's own circle

The protests, which have spread to more than 100 regions of Russia since January 23, were recorded as the first major events of 2021. Emphasizing that the events actually took place on the basis of the reckoning within the dominance, Dr. Bahlul Aliyev said: "We can say that behind the Russian protests, there is a group of people who are tired of Putin in his own circle.”

After the Russian political oppositioner Alexei Nalvany, who was poisoned during a flight in August and was treated in Germany, was detained at the airport after his return to his country on 17 January and was arrested on January 18 on the pretext of the case belonging to 6 years ago, thousands of people took to the streets in separate regions and shouted 'Freedom to Navalny'. There have been many arrests in clashes between protesters and law enforcement, as the police declared the action illegal. Evaluating the issue, Sociologist and International Relations Expert Dr. Bahlul Aliyev from Istanbul Gelisim University said: “The principle from the Soviet times of ‘no human, no problem’ is still very effective in Russian politics. Charismatic leaders and influencers, seen as threats to domination, continue to fall victim to unsolved perpetrators. The murder of dissident Boris Nemtsov, who was seen as the most effective candidate for Presidency long before Navalny was poisoned, is a prime example of this.”

“POISONING NAVALNY WITH ‘NOVICCHOK OPERATION SPECIFIC TO FSB”

Stating that there is no doubt that the poisoning of Aleksey Navalny was an operation specific to Russian intelligence, Dr. Aliyev said: “The biggest evidence to prove this is that a month ago Navalny called Konstantin Kudryavchev, the chemist of the FSB, who had planned this assassination against him, with a special program and presented him as the secretary of the State Security Council and questioned the details of the operation. The interview, published on social media, included a series of confessions of the aforementioned person. It has long been known that Navalny had been stalking by the FSB, and Vladimir Putin himself admitted at the press conference that there was such a follow-up and that "the state carries out against all foreign agents". Besides, poisoning with ‘Novichok’ is one of the methods used by the old KGB from the times of the Soviet Union. In Salisbury, former Russian agents Sergei Skripal and his daughter Julia were killed by this poison, and Britain officially blamed Russia. In addition, Putin's brazen statement that “If we wanted to kill, we would take it to the end” to the question asked about the poisoning of Navalny at the same press conference, gave the appearance of desperate resistance to the psychological pressure on him.”

“THE NEW GENERATION OF RUSSIAN YOUTH IS MORE ADJUATORY”

Stressing that the new generation of Russian youth, who did not see the chaos environment after the collapse of the USSR, did not respect the old discourses of the government, Dr. Aliyev said: “Now a new youth has emerged in Russia. The majority see themselves as more European, living a life in line with European values. It is impossible to scare the new generation with the Wild 90s, dominated by chaos and ruled by gangs and mafias. That is why the overwhelming majority of the protesters are young people. The collapse in the economy with each passing day has already made people bored. With the release of the movie titled 'Putin's Palace' after Navalny's arrest, which was previously prepared by his team, young people came to the conclusion that the root of all problems lays in corrupt government, and they tried to protest this situation by taking the streets. The fact that all the details of the palace built for Putin are included in the film, the allegations of spending a hundred billion rubles for the construction of this palace alone and the fact that these money are purely bribery, as well as the documentation of other corruption caused the anger that has accumulated for a long time. New and more adjuatory Russian youth cannot tolerate the insatiable corruption of the oligarchy.”

“THERE MAY BE SUPPORT BY PUTIN'S OWN ENVIRONMENT”

Mentioning that there might be groups supporting Navalny from Putin's own circle and providing them with documents, Dr. Bahlul Aliyev continued his words as follows: “Navalny had been preparing programs regarding the corruption of the oligarchy in the country before. There are more striking details in this last 2-hour program. The drone shooting of the palace, which is protected by the FSB itself, in the no-fly zone, the publication of its drawings, the details of its interior architecture in 3D format, the models, brands and prices of the furniture used in it, and many other details are not available to an ordinary researcher. In addition, it is thought-provoking to explain the corruption scheme in detail with the documents. It is very likely that there is the support of some groups who want to use the Navalny against Putin and who are tired of Putin's bribery empire. This is not to claim that Navalny is a project, but simply as an overlap of interests. Although it is not possible to think that these protests will reach their ultimate goal, it is certain that they will have serious effects in the future.”