Anti-Kremlin protests: Russia fighting back
Furgal is a member of the ultra-nationalist Liberal Democratic Party and was unexpectedly elected governor of the Khabarovsk region in 2018. He remained popular throughout the region for measures that appeared to cut government waste, including reducing his own salary and banning his officials from flying in business class seats. A figure out of the ordinary in Russian politics. He has now appeared in court in Moscow, charged with orchestrating the murders of two businessmen in 2004 and 2005 and the attempted murder of another. Furgal has denied all charges and the court ordered him detained until September the 9th of this year. Yet, his supporters believe that these charges are revenge for his election victory in 2018 over a candidate from Putin's ruling party.
Furgal ran a company selling timber and metal at the time of the murders, in a region that is dominated by rival business and criminal groups. Before this, he worked as a neurologist and GP. He is often referred to locally as "the people's governor" , with his popularity being a forced to be reckoned this, as seen in these protests. These protests and angry political sentiment against the Kremlin (home of Russian central government) were unusual given how far Khabarovsk is from the Russian capital and given how the Kremlin has marginalised all political opposition in the country. It shows the Putin is slowly losing his aura as an invincible leader.
The videos of the protests show protesters, both young and old, waving signs in support of the arrested governor and chanting "Freedom for Furgal", "Moscow Get Out" and "Putin Step Down." Protesters were less concerned about Furgal's innocence or guilt and more concerned that his alleged crimes had suddenly been used to get rid of a governor who, unlike Putin, had won a real election in the country. They are pleading for democracy. Additionally, smaller rallies were also held in the military-industrial city of Komsomolsk-on-Amur and other towns in the region. It is estimated by Khabarovsk police that between 10,000 and 12,000 people attended the demonstration, while some local media estimated 20,000 to 30,000. The biggest public demonstration in the city's recent history.
Aleksei A. Navalny, a Moscow-based anti-corruption campaigner and Russia’s most prominent opposition leader, cheered Saturday’s protests in the Far East, hailing the street demonstration in Khabarovsk as the “biggest in the city’s history.” Mr. Nalvalny tweeted a video of the protests and a message of support: “Far East, We Are With You!” Additionally, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, the outspoken nationalist leader of the party, told the State Duma (Russia's House of Commons) on July 9th that the party's faction in parliament was "ready to resign in protest" against the arrest.
Fungal is the second high-profile arrest in Russia recently. Last Wednesday, a former defense journalist at the Russian space agency Roscosmos, Ivan Safronov, was detained on suspicion of state treason accusations. The Federal Security Service said he was "performing tasks for one of NATO's intelligence services, collecting state confidential data about Russia's military and technical cooperation, defense and security and handing it over to its representative." This further provoked dozens of activists and journalists to join public demonstrations in support of Safronov, saying he also has been unfairly detained. Like his father, who died after mysteriously falling out of a window in 2007.
All of this comes after a rigged national referendum on constitutional amendments in Russia which effectively entrenched Putin as president for life. This was decided after 7 days of voting, where the electoral commission in Moscow announced that Putin had won what the Kremlin described as a "triumphant referendum on confidence." More than 78% of voters endorsed amendments that allow Putin to crash through term limits previously mandated by the Constitution and stay in power until at least 2036. Bearing in mind that he was supposed to step down at the end of his current term in 2024. The political strategist and former speechwriter for Putin, Abbas Gallyamov, has said in a Facebook post that the arrests serve as a warning against opposition candidates gearing up to run in the upcoming September elections.
Corruption in Russia
Russia is almost plagued by this culture of corruption. I would like to explore it in more detail to give you the true extent of the politics in the country. Reports from Transparency International and Russian Academy of Sciences on education has highlighted this pervasive culture of corruption in Russia that persists despite efforts by the government and opposition activists.
A big sector of corruption can be seen in education. For example, there has been many university graduates who have spoken out about writing academic papers for other students to make extra money and tailoring each paper for the target university. There are also members in the State Duma who have diplomas but which are nothing more than a printout on some beautiful paper conferring to a degree to them in the name of a nonexistent academy of science or nonexistent university. These politicians don't even have the adequate qualifications to run the country. This has resulted in the Entrepreneur's Rights Commissioner Boris Titov labelling the issue as the "biggest problem" facing Russia.
In terms of the legislative procedure, corruption in courts can take many forms. This can include bribery and the fabrication of evidence. Bribes and irregular payments are widely exchanged for favourable court decision. Despite it being in law that the judiciary is independent, judges are exposed to undue influence from politicians, the executive branch, the military and other security forces. Corruption is prominent in high profile or politically sensitive cases, therefore, there is no chance that Furgal will get off lightly. Bribery is so bad that of those charged with bribery in Russia in 1993, over 42% were government officials and over 25% were law enforcement officers.
The tax administration carries high corruption risks for companies. Tax rates and regulations are problematic in Russia when doing business and companies report that bribes and irregular payments are often exchanged when meeting with tax officials. Additionally, in 2005 the government reduced the penalties for bribery - decreasing the fine for passive bribery to ten times the size of the bribe (down from 25 times) and to five times the size of the bribe for active bribery (down from 15 times.) Russian government does not care about the corruption. They have procedures and conduct written in law but in reality many companies don't even cover the basic elements of a compliance programme.
The media is heavily restricted and controlled by the state. The corrupt courts are frequently used by officials and the government to harass and silence journalists trying to highlight abuse of office. The few independent media outlets in Russia are under pressure from authorities and struggle to maintain operations. The government has actively censored and restricted media content through the application of various laws. Both foreign and national journalists face physical intimidation when working in Russia, with 70 attacks on journalists and bloggers being reported during 2015.
Not only is corruption evident in the form of bribery and control. It is also seen in the link of government to organised crime gangs. Members of the Duma have been linked to organised crime. Vladimir Zhirinovsky, leader of the ultranationalist Liberal Democratic Party, is alleged to have received hundreds of thousands of dollars for the party's most recent electoral campaign from reputed gangsters. The Russian Mafiya is distinctively interconnected with key sections of the government bureaucracy, an outcome of the demise of the Communist Party in Russia. It is estimate that the Russian criminal world spends 50% of its income on bribes to Government officials alone. This is a grave problem.
Personally, I don't think that these protests will provide any threat to the Putin leadership. He has plenty of tools to use within government to oppress resistance. But I do think that this highlights the growing discontent in the region and could spark more frequent protests throughout the country. Especially now that they have him in power until 2034. Protests that could become more and more regular and may lead to an uprising. Something that Putin will not be able to control.
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