- “I am ready to be shot if it comes to it,” said Sergei Ivanchenko, who is 27 years old and who is employed by a workers' rights organization. “I understand the possible consequences.”
- With the country held under Putin’s tight grip for so long, Ivanchenko said, Russia has no future. And while he did not believe the protests would amount to much — the latest polls show Putin with 66 percent of the vote, far ahead of his rivals — he still felt that Russians deserved to have a voice.
- “Governments only work for the people if they are held accountable,” he said.
ADDENDUM: the way one Redditor puts it about the Russian political system struck a chord, so I'm sharing it here as well:
- Russia really lacks basic political culture based on competition and citizen responsibility because there is no competition if one guy plans to be in charge till his death and there is no responsibility if there is no real choice.
I've been looking at meduza.io from time to time for Russian news, do you read it? and what do you think of it? Have you watched any of the Navalny's videos? What do you think of them? I hear that they are pretty persuasive. I've heard interviews of parents who's kids have gotten them to watch a few and had their view of government changed.
I may have read something from it a while ago. I don't tend to news, and shame as it is, my main news source is Reddit (I try to kick the habit, but bad days are common). If I learn something about Russia, it's from there. Have read a bit, from both the Russian and the English versions. Russian version has much "partnership" material, which really is disguised advertisement. None in the English version. Always smells funny. It seems to be socially motivated more than politically, and is definitely 'awakened' in its political outlook. (I should've dwelled on that term longer) They're talking about stuff I don't expect to ever appear on mainstream news channels in Russia, such as genderqueer acceptance or suicide rates. Can't condemn or recommend without a further look. I'll let you know, if you're interested. Not yet. Planning to get to them sometime soon. Reading about He Is Not Dimon to You (the title that tickles me in all the right places) made the video sound like a fine watching. Fun fact: on my way to the university, I sometimes pass a booth that's screaming "XENIA SOBCHAK AGAINST EVERYONE". Xenia is the local copy of Paris Hilton and is also a daughter of Anatoly Sobchak, a former mayor of Saint Petersburg and mentor to Vladimir Putin and Dmitry "He's not Dimon" Medvedev (word is: Sobchak helped Putin rise to power). Xenia wants to be the President of Russian Federation. Yeah, right.do you read it? and what do you think of it?
Have you watched any of the Navalny's videos?