Russian blogger faces prison term
Russia’s star blogger Alexei Navalny told the Dozhd [Rain] Channel, live, that he would run for presidency in 2018. His statement drew the bloggers’ attention across the world. Moscow press also responded, printing comments by experts, observers, and politicians.
His Internet meme concerning the Single Russia party was characteristically sharp-worded, describing it as a pack of crooks and thieves. It started being quoted. The man had made his name politically in the winter and fall of 2012, as evidenced by rallies that took place. At the time, Navalny was obviously ahead of all opposition leaders, and the Kremlin responded by starting criminal proceedings, charging Navalny with acts of corruption as an advisor to Governor Nikita Belykh of Kirovsk oblast, along with defamation lawsuits, etc. Live on Dozhd Channel, Navalny explained the reasons behind the lawsuits: “What’s actually important for them isn’t my prison term but proving that I’m not an anti-corruption champion, that I’m just another crook.” He went on to predict the court ruling, the Russian President’s decision, adding that there would be a number of court hearings involving latter-day dissidents: “They will throw a large number of people behind bars. I don’t want to offer any forecasts, but the situation appears to be developing according to a Belarusian scenario.”
Single Russia MPs, of course, view the situation [with Navalny] as another campaign stunt aimed at attracting media attention and politicizing the criminal proceedings. MP of United Russia party Vladimir Burmatov told Kommersant FM: “I believe there is a clear-cut media task and strategy aimed at politicizing the Navalny case. The man is loath to be shown as another crook, of course… He wants to appear in the courtroom, in mid-April, with media people present, with charges pressed for not having [allegedly] stolen money in Kirovsk oblast, but for having stated that he will run for the Russian presidency, and that he is being prosecuted for political reasons.”
Such statements are not usually made five years before the presidential campaign. Burmatov said that any such statement cannot be regarded seriously, that this can only be viewed as a publicity stunt.
The fact remains that Navalny has made such statements. He has made no secret of his presidential ambition. It looks as though the Kremlin were taken unawares, especially in terms of media response to Navalny’s latest statement.
Another strategy was applied. Navalny is mostly known on the Internet; also, in [Russia’s] narrow liberal-nationalist quarters. Levada Center’s poll [http: // www.levada.ru /eng/levada-center] is an example. The number of users/visitors who know about Navalny has increased from six to 37 percent in March 2011-April 2013, although this increase does not necessarily spell publicity. Two years ago those who knew (five percent) were prepared to vote for him as another head of state, and 28 percent did not rule out the possibility. Today, he has one percent of dedicated supporters and 13 percent of who might just vote for him.
Navalny’s vague domestic policy program is counterbalanced by a clear-cut foreign policy one. One is reminded of his appearance in a talk show on the Inter Channel. He spoke about common roots and combining efforts, presumably within a single Russian state. This assumption is germane to most in Russia’s opposition...
This controversial publicity is explained by Navalny: “All four channels [i.e., Moscow’s government-run ones. – Ed.] keep telling about a blogger by the name of Navalny who stole millions [of rubles], who became a lawyer for no legitimate reasons, and who is a slanderer and extremist. Who would vote for him? Nobody. In fact, I keep wondering about those 14 percent.”
Kremlin-run television brainwashing bears fruit, of course, especially in the Russian province where there is no access to the surviving liberal periodicals in Moscow. However, there are people who remember Soviet times and know what official propaganda is all about, along with daily news bulletins about another ranking bureaucrat being arrested on corruption charges. Of course, Russia’s law-enforcement agencies keep detecting and apprehending corrupt bureaucrats, even MPs. The President and the Prime Minister forbid the bureaucrats to own property and foreign bank accounts. Many went ballistic in Russia after hearing about the bill monitoring personal revenues and expenses. Moscow and suburbs are said to be caught in an epidemic of divorces, with ranking bureaucrats looking for and finding legal loopholes to keep the money they have stolen from the Russian Federation. Levada Center reads that, in 2011, 68 percent of respondents trusted or were inclined to trust Navalny and his expose findings. It is 54 percent now.
Navalny faces enemies in the Kremlin administration and among his Parteigenossen. In fact, attacks from within his party prove more vicious than from the powers that be.
His campaign program is rather eclectic, borrowing liberal and openly nationalistic slogans. In terms of economy, he wants all corruptionists behind bars. This, however, is the tip of the iceberg. Navalny appears to have a vague idea about economy and management. Lots of the electorate displeased with the current administration see or sense this, hence the publicity decline.
Interestingly, his vague domestic policy program is counterbalanced by a clear-cut foreign policy one. One is reminded of his appearance in a talk show on the Inter Channel. He spoke about common roots and combining efforts, presumably within a single Russian state. This assumption is germane to most in Russia’s opposition, with few exceptions that confirm the rule. It is a mirror reflection of the stand taken by those in power in Russia. Russia’s upstairs seems to know only forceful methods; ditto Navalny. The man has promised prison terms for Putin and his retinue, including Rottenberg and Timchenko.
Many in Russia believe that Navalny wants to replace Putin and rule using his good old [KGB] techniques. The fact remains that the charismatic Russian opposition leader, Alexei Navalny, who goes on trial in just over one week, told The New York Times that he was mentally prepared for a prison sentence and had even packed a bag of clothes to take to jail. He added that the incriminating evidence came from Putin, and that many would be thrown behind bars. He said there was a chance of receiving a prison term in conjunction with the Kirovles case, and that Putin and Bastyrkin were daydreaming about his flight abroad. Navalny stressed that he was not going to board any overseas flight; that Aleksandr Bastyrkin would not allow his case to fall to pieces in the courtroom. There are two options left — suspended sentence or prison term, he concluded. The first option would deny Navalny the right to vie in a presidential race as an individual with a criminal record. Hence the 16 million rubles. The second option is up to 10 years in prison. Navalny says he is mentally prepared to face this term: “So they will throw me behind bars and you will have to defend me; many people will follow suit, and this will continue until they are scared to go on… I will not change my stand because I’m facing a prison term,” reads http://rospil.info/.
