Leonid Volkov announced that the protests were deposited until spring. This caused a lot of conflicting reactions

"Medusa" found out why the Navalny team made such a decision

On January 23 and 31, mass actions were held throughout Russia in support of the politician Alexei Navalny - thousands of people were detained on them. Once again, people entered the protest on February 2, when the Simonovsky court decided to send Navalny to the colony - the security forces were beaten again and detained them. In total, more than 10 thousand people were detained on the last three shares, 50 criminal cases were instituted . Many waited for the continuation of the shares, but on February 4, the Navalny team stated that there were no new rallies in his support yet - they decided to postpone them until spring and summer. "Medusa" tells how this decision was made, what affected it and why the Navalny team believes that the suspension of shares will not lead to a decline in the protest movement.

There will be no rallies in the next weekend. Protest shares were postponed until spring and summer

On February 4, the head of the network of regional headquarters of Navalny Leonid Volkov announced that this weekend there would be no continuation of the shares on January 23 and 31. According to him, the following rallies will only be held in the spring, and then in the summer.

If we go out every week, we will receive thousands of more arrested and hundreds of beaten. The work of the headquarters will be paralyzed and it will be impossible to work on the elections for just like that. This is not what Alexey asks us. Alexey asks us to concentrate in the fall [and elections to the State Duma], ”Volkov explained.

A wave of protest should be finished “at a high point”, Navalny’s ally added: “If we decline, then this is terribly demotivated and upset.”

Volkov said that his supporters would “get” Navalny from the colony by other methods - foreign policy. In particular, comrades -in -arms of the policy intend to seek personal sanctions against the environment of Vladimir Putin: “We will arrest and take them [assets]. We work together with the EU to create a corresponding regulatory framework and procedure for this, within which this money will be confiscated. ”

Navalny’s teams are planning to do so, “that not a single world leader will talk to Putin about anything except Alexei Navalny and his liberation.”

In a conversation with Medusa, Volkov emphasized that Navalny’s headquarters did not announce the termination of the shares: “We do not refuse rallies, we take a short pause. But pretty soon we will return and conduct new large rallies across the country. ”

In social networks, some call Volkov a “traitor”, while others are praised for “rationality”. The headquarters of Navalny expected such a reaction

After the statement of the headquarters of Navalny in social networks - including on Twitter of Leonid Volkov himself - a violent discussion unfolded. Some people called Volkov and the Navalny team “traitors” and stated that they “leaked” the protest: in their opinion, new actions in the near future could become even larger. “They themselves made porridge, and now in the bushes,” they wrote to Volkov in the comments.

The researcher at Amnesty International Oleg Kozlovsky called Volkov’s decision to stop “defeat” for the duration of the protest: “The Kremlin is now opening champagne: another wave of protests survived. It is not known how much more the system would have lasted, which already worked at the limit of its capabilities, but there was not enough forces. ”

Other users support the staff of the headquarters not to hold rallies this weekend: “In the war, you need to know when to retreat and regroup. The losses are significant. " Some - thank the team for "calm and rationality", which help to fight the feeling of depression after on February 2 the court sentenced Navalny to the real term of imprisonment.

Political strategist Abbas Gallyamov noted that Volkov’s decision is correct in essence, but unsuccessful in form: “Yes, it is too early to rally every day, the situation has not yet been inflated. But the headlines “Volkov announced that he refused the rally in the next weekend“ it was necessary to avoid, because it looked like a retreat. ” Gallamov added that the Navalny team could avoid most of the accusations if she described a clear action plan until September, when the State Duma elections were held.

Leonid Volkov in a conversation with Medusa noted that the Navalny team expected a contradictory reaction to the decision to suspend rallies. “So a normal and correct human reaction to difficult decisions on difficult issues is arranged. People who agree with the decision do not write about this, and those who do not agree actively express their position. I see that most comments are negative, it is inevitable, ”he said.

Volkov admitted that the decision on the suspension of shares was also affected by the expectation that fewer people could come to new shares in the near future. According to Navalny’s headquarters, the total number of people on shares on January 31 was less than the 23rd; More people came out only in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Krasnodar, Yekaterinburg and Novosibirsk.

Volkov believes that with the help of the cruel actions of the security forces, the Kremlin has already shown "readiness for absolutely Belarusian scenario for power suppression." Therefore, now the opposition needs to look for alternative struggle options, as well as to prepare well for continuing protests: “If we received another, and another rally with a decreasing number, this would lead to great demotivation. If we continued the next rallies and saw the attenuation, it would have exposed people even more danger. ”

Navalny’s team promises to support other people's actions and is sure that the protest will not decline

At the same time, in a conversation with Medusa, Volkov noted that if supporters of the protest movement themselves organize shares, the headquarters of Navalny will support them. “We are ready for any operational response [for promotions],” Director of the FBK Ivan Zhdanov also told Medusa.

Zhdanov is sure that even without large -scale shares, the protest movement in Russia will not decline: “What is Putin and the Kremlin now arrange, beating people on the streets, reducing the troops, closing the metro and cordoning off the entire city center - this accumulates anger and energy among people.”

Volkov indicates that the main reasons for the protest will not disappear until the shares are held: “It is impossible to turn this minced meat back, no one will develop the film about Putin’s palace , no one finds out the whole story about the return of Navalny, his arrest and poisoning.”

Navalny's associates are betting on the elections to the State Duma and a “ smart vote ”. Not everyone likes it either

In his statement , Leonid Volkov emphasized that the Navalny team plans to concentrate on preparing for the autumn elections to the State Duma. He noted that Navalny himself adheres to such a position.

Opposition politician Dmitry Gudkov in a conversation with Medusa supported such a decision. “The protests began in the most dysfunctional period, when the election was far from the election, and the society was demoralized. It turned out to be an emotional protest, moral and ethical. Many people did not go out for Navalny, but against injustice, but there was still no serious content of the protest. Everyone went against lawlessness, and mass protest should be prepared more thoroughly, ”he said.

According to Gudkov, the elections always serve as a catalyst for protests - and now they are too far to hold the shares regularly: “Later a new content will appear. It is necessary to prepare for the elections somehow, because if there is an opportunity to act in a legal field, it is always better, and so it could lead to radicalization from all sides and in the elections we would have a problem-to vote for unicorn or Stalinists. ”

According to the Moscow municipal deputy and journalist of Novaya Gazeta, Ilya Azar, who himself organized protest actions, the decision of Volkov is most dissatisfied with Navalny’s supporters, but people who went to promotions to also express their dissatisfaction with political and social problems. “Although I do not like such a complete protest and seems cynical, criticism of Navalny’s decisions from the lips of people who are not in prison and do not have mass support in society, while it sounds pointless and sorry,” he added.

Azar believes that now Russian opposition oppositions “not from the FBK” do not have resources for mass shares. He also stated that it is important for the following mass shares to create some organizational structure that could unite oppositional people: “Otherwise, the next mass protests will end in August 2019 and in January 2021-in addition to repressions from the authorities with a cheerful announcement of Navalny (Volkova):“ Thank you for participating in protests, and now go to vote for systemic systems Party "".

At the same time, it is known that - as in the elections to the Moscow City Duma in 2019 - Navalny's associates in the new political season do not intend to limit themselves to “smart voting”. For example, an employee of the FBK Lyubov Sobol has already announced her participation in the elections to the State Duma. And at the end of 2019, Leonid Volkov himself said that the Navalny team began preparations for the election campaign-and promised that the elections of 2021 "would be a terrible nightmare for" United Russia "."

Alexandra Sivtsova