What Happens Next In Russia?

Participants attend an anti-government protest in Moscow June 12. Thousands of Russians chanted 'Russia will be free' in a march through Moscow on Tuesday to protest against President Vladimir Putin, shrugging off his tough new tactics intended to quash any challenge to his rule. Tatyana Makeyeva/Reuters

For Russia, It Can Only Get Worse -- John Lloyd, Reuters

Russians who disapprove of what their country is doing to Ukraine are a small and unpopular minority.

The boldest champion of dissent, Alexei Navalny, is under house arrest. He and his brother Oleg are awaiting trial for fraud involving the French company, Yves Rocher — which the company has denied ever happened. Pavel Durov, who founded and ran In Touch, Russia’s largest social network, has left the country after being fired from his position. Sergei Guriev, the former head of the New Economic School, the center of liberal economic thinking, fled Russia last year, fearing arrest.

Even with their backs against the wall, though, the liberals are feisty. They press their case that Russia is now hastening its own doom. I caught up with several of them at a conference outside of Moscow last week, organized by the Moscow School of Civic Enlightenment, a non-governmental organization focused on democratic and civic issues. (Full Disclosure: I have been on the Moscow School’s advisory committee for the three years).

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My Comment: Being a critic on Russian official policy (in Russia) has never been easy .... I should know .... I lived there and I was a critic starting in high school during the height of the Cold War. And while the times have changed .... it is still a very hard place to live in .... especially if you are a liberal democrat who hates the corruption that is endemic in Russian society and the policies of the Kremlin. But on a bright note .... even though Putin's popularity is around 80% .... when the average Russian is asked if they want Putin to run for a second term as President .... most are overwhelmingly against that idea.