Russia's Opposition Protest Movement Turns One

March and demonstration "For Fair Elections" on December 24, 2011, in Moscow. © RIA Novosti. Kirill Kallinikov

Russia’s Anti-Putin Opposition: One Year On -- RIA Novosti

MOSCOW, December 5 (Marc Bennetts, RIA Novosti) - When thousands of Muscovites swept into the streets to protest alleged vote-rigging in favor of Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party at the December 4, 2011, parliamentary polls, they revived a passion for politics not seen here for some two decades and set the scene for the greatest challenge to the ex-KGB officer’s long rule.

“We exist! We are the power here!” screamed Alexei Navalny, the popular anti-corruption activist soon to become the most troubling thorn in the Kremlin’s side, as some 6,000 people rallied near Red Square the evening after the disputed parliamentary elections. “Russia without Putin!” responded the crowd, breathing new life into the tired mantra of radicals and veteran dissidents.

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More News On Russia's Opposition Protest Movement Turning One Year Old

Opposition Protest Movement Turns One -- Moscow Times
Anti-Putin Activists Mark Anniversary of Landmark Protest -- RIA Novosti
A year on from anti-Putin protests, many feel government has tightened the screws -- Irish Times
No Russian revolution after a year of protests -- First Post
Anti-Putin Snow Revolution a year later finds opposition weak and divided -- Asia News
Russian street protests back to where they came from -- Pravda

My Comment: The protest movement is still there .... isolated on blogs and social media. Speaking as someone whose nationality is Russian and who strongly supports liberal democracy .... even I recognize that Putin enjoys a lot of support, and as long as that support stays there (and it is staying there), he will probably win the next Presidential election a few years from now. For Russia's opposition movement to be effective, they should work on the local and regional levels and build a viable base that when the time comes they can then confront legitimately and effectively against Putin and his supporters on the national level. In short .... they must plan for the future and prove themselves to be able to replace Putin (or his replacement) when the time comes.