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By Ilya Faybisovich
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Vladimir Putin may be celebrating victory after Sunday’s presidential elections, but Russia remains riddled with uncertainties. We do not know the extent of vote-rigging and we have no idea about what will happen tomorrow, let alone next week. One thing is clear: sweeping change has begun and there is no stopping it. Whether you want to call it “revolution” is irrelevant. What matters now is that the opposition transforms its raw emotions into a manifesto for the future of Russia.
Mr Putin and his team have done all they could to sustain the reform movement. They accused protesters of selling out to America, hinting they do not love Russia enough. Mr Putin got more than his fair share of air time on federal television channels, while millions of public sector workers were told what the right choice is if they value the security of their jobs. All this was no surprise. Nor was Mr Putin’s victory. But now, the opposition has to set the agenda and stop relying on Mr Putin to do it for them.It needs to say where the country should go in the next few years. The millions of Russians sympathetic to the protests are eagerly waiting for these ideas. It is no secret that the protesters represent a broad political spectrum. This is a good thing: the protest should flourish in new directions. New parties left, right and centre should emerge and engage in proper debates about economic policy, healthcare, education and various other reforms – everything that Mr Putin preferred not to discuss during his years in power.
This will not be easy but it has to be done if the opposition – on the left and the right – wants to appear credible to millions of future voters. It will also show Mr Putin’s campaign promises for what they are – a big reckless bet on oil prices staying high, coupled with cheap populism. The development of genuine parties with practical ideas is especially important for the country’s business elite who have been watching developments with understandable unease.
Creating parties out of thin air is not easy. Here my story turns personal. Many of the most active protesters have to go one – very big – step further. The reason I became involved in the protests two months ago and still do not want to let go is simple: the surest way to give up your rights is to rely on somebody else to protect them.
This applies to many of my friends. In the first two decades of the new Russia hundreds of thousands of people have made their mark in various industries and walks of life. While the state has been disintegrating, we have been learning, working and creating our own companies. We are not experienced in politics – and we never wanted to be. We can earn a better living in the private sector. We are much more comfortable pointing out flaws in the system than rectifying these flaws. We could – having secured a new degree of scrutiny of elections – turn back and go home: mission accomplished.
But this would result in deep disappointment at the failed reforms and broken promises that will surely follow – just as they did in Ukraine in the aftermath of the Orange Revolution. Stepping aside at the crucial moment is something we as a nation simply cannot afford. This is exactly what we did almost 20 years ago.
The USSR neared its end for economic reasons but its demise was made swifter by the individual actions of our parents and our grandparents. They chatted in their kitchens, made rock music that energised millions, and wrote essays and books on the shortcomings of the Communist regime. Word was king, as so often in Russian history.
When, finally, the regime fell, the euphoria quickly gave way to apathy: the new Russians had very little to offer to their country. Contrary to popular belief, the trouble was not with the economy; it was with everything else. Very few people made the tough decision to change their lives dramatically and try to help their country change.
Today we are in a better position to oversee a genuine change to the way we live. Word is still king – as evidenced by the pivotal role Facebook has played in the protest – but now we have the expertise and experience to follow our words with deeds. We have to take the responsibility and risks that come with it simply because the cost of inaction is too high.
The writer is a Russian blogger and activist
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