"The Love Toilet....Because when you're in love, even five minutes apart can seem like an eternity."
Posted on 02/21/2015 2:34:11 PM PST by GeronL
Anti-Putin activist Alexei Navalny, who is currently under house arrest, has officially informed authorities of his intention to assemble a 100,000-strong, anti-government protest in Moscow on 1st March.
A photo of Navalny’s letter, addressed to Moscow mayor Sergey Sobyanin and requesting permission for the protest, was posted on his blog. The image also revealed that Mikhail Khodorkovsky was one of the letter’s five signatories.
Khodorkovsky is a Kremlin dissident who announced last September that he would be prepared to run for president if incumbent Vladimir Putin could not combat corruption and prevent a financial crisis in Russia.
The former oligarch spent a decade in Russian prison after publicly challenging Putin on issues such as corrupt government officials. He was unexpectedly pardoned by the president in 2013 and has lived in exile in Zurich, Switzerland ever since.
Neither Navalny nor Khodorkovsky have said whether Khodorkovsky will return for the first time to Russia to personally join the protest. “We are all very happy with [Khodorkovsky's support],” Navalny wrote today. “He has called on his fellow countrymen to join the march.”
According to the letter, the ‘anti-crisis’ protest will be called ‘Spring’, alluding to the non-violent revolutions which toppled Communist governments in eastern Europe after the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1989. Navalny has already said he will call for Putin’s resignation during the protest due to his “inability” to manage the Russian economy.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsweek.com ...
Uh, really bad idea for Khodorkovsky to show up back in town.
Putin isn’t really worried about his world image now like he was before Sochi.
Putin has an 80% approval rating. He should be able to ride out opposition protests.
80% approval rating, or else.
It’s not like the people of Russia have much choice. All they hear is the Putin media giving them Putin propaganda.
Russia is a lot like North Korea.
But then one remembers that Sochi was the most corrupt Olympics in history that ended up producing things like two toilets in one stall. I guess if you have a buddy?
Sounds like our media with Obama.
"The Love Toilet....Because when you're in love, even five minutes apart can seem like an eternity."
Successful Olympics, bloodless regaining of Crimea, balanced budgets, suppression of the Chechen turmoil... all of that would make any one hugely popular.
Putin pulled it off. Most Western leaders envy his popularity.
Mad Vlad invaded a broken country like an evil dictator
I wonder how many Russian soldiers have died in Ukraine? 1,000? 2,000? more?
We know Putin has an 80% approval rating because the Putin paid-for polls say so.
That's not to say that Putin is probably more popular than he should be in Russia. The vodka soaked people of Russia are liberty challenged.
at least in the US we still have opposition blogs and radio and stuff.
“Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon.” There is no defense. It’s irrational. It’s infuriating. It also works as a key pressure point to force the enemy into concessions.
From Gallup.com
Survey Methods Results are based on face-to-face interviews with 2,000 adults, aged 15 and older, conducted July 8-Aug. 3, 2013, in Russia. For results based on the total sample of national adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is ±2.7 percentage points. The margin of error reflects the influence of data weighting. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.
He’s already been reimprisoned since this published. 15 days in jail for promoting the protest and is barred from participating:
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-31545047
Most corrupt in history, only revealed what Russia is.
bloodless regaining of Crimea,
The dead citizens in Crimea who were picked up off the street and murdered in the cold and the dark by the Putin regime would say otherwise.
balanced budgets,
An economy built almost entirely on oil that threatens to collapse the moment oil prices plummet-- that's not just Venezuela or third world countries with oil resources.
suppression of the Chechen turmoil..
A war the Russkies started by committing their own terrorist attacks on civilian targets in Moscow (it is the reason why state-run Russian media accuses the U.S. of being behind 9/11... it's projection), and a war they finished with tremendous brutality on the civilian population that makes all claims of U.S. war crimes look shallow and empty.
all of that would make any one hugely popular.
That and state-controlled Media that lies constantly, a mostly idiot population that depends on government handouts and government jobs in order to stay prosperous, and a Soviet style repression would certainly do this.
Are you saying Free-reign is using Alinsky tactics? Putinist Toad. Your lord and master is a KGB killer. They invented it you dog.
f*** off troll!
No FU Putin butt kisser.
Thanks GPH.
Or you’ll do what, call everybody Nazis and then pass out from all your vodka? You’re another odious frog.
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