Russians defy bitter cold to protest against electoral fraud

“We won’t be put off by the frost.” With this text in her hand, Anastasia Karimova stands proudly in her bikini next to a statue of Lenin, urging the Moscovites to take part in Saturday’s mass demonstration against election fraud. It is 15 degrees below freezing.
The journalist from the daily Kommersant published the photo on her Facebook page to hearten the protesters. It’s the fourth time since the parliamentary elections of 4 December that tens of thousands of Moscovites will be demonstrating against electoral fraud. But it’s the first time since the weather turned so extreme.
Tips to stay warm
Tips to stay warm are circulating on the internet. Good clothing is a must: a down jacket, a jumper, a hat, a warm scarf and gloves. But the experts also recommend thermal underwear and a piece of cardboard to stand on for insulation. A good meal before heading to the streets also helps. And: no alcohol!
Organising the protest on the bound-to-be-chilly 4 February is not just an arbitrary choice. Exactly 22 years ago hundreds of thousands of people demonstrated in Moscow against the single party rule by the Communist Party. The organisers wanted to take the same route through the streets, but the city council objected. So the current route is a compromise.
 
United front
And there is another difference from the historic demonstration of 1990. Back then it was unthinkable that liberal democrats, nationalists and neo-fascists would be walking side by side.
This time, extreme right-wing groups will be joining the ranks to form a united front. However, it has been agreed that – like all the other political groups – they will be marching in separate columns bearing their own flag.
Popular blogger Aleksey Navalny
The protests are being organised by a wide variety of politicians, writers and journalists. One of them is the popular blogger Aleksey Navalny, known for his unremitting battle against corruption and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party, which he has renamed the “party of crooks and thieves”.
Navalny, who has political ambitions, is controversial because he flirts with the nationalist movement. Last November, for example, he gave a speech at a demonstration by extreme right-wing groups.
 
Central figure Boris Akunin
This has aroused the suspicion of some members of the opposition, such as Boris Akunin, another central figure of the Russian resistance. He is a successful author of historical crime novels and until recently steered well clear of politics.
Now he is one of the most popular protest speakers for fair elections and a leader of the Voters League, one of the groups coordinating the demonstrations.
TV personality Leonid Parfyonov
Another popular speaker is Leonid Parfjonov, one of Russia’s most prominent TV personalities. In the 1990s he made very successful documentaries and current affairs programmes.
Although censorship increased under Putin, he continued much along the same lines. This wasn’t appreciated by many of his colleagues. However, in 2010 he publicly criticised the deplorable state of Russian television.
 
Chess player Kasparov
Another prominent figure is the former World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov. In recent years he has rallied as many people as possible to go out on the street and protest against Putin.
Kasparov was already politically active in the early 1990s, before dedicating himself to his career as a chess player. In order to get as many parties to work together as possible, Kasparov is prepared to collaborate with both the communists and right-wing extremists.
Environmentalist Jevgenija Chirikova
Environmentalist Jevgenija Chirikova is known for her recent protests against cutting down trees to make way for a main road outside Moscow – she tried to stop the bulldozers with her bare hands. Now she is one of Russia’s best-known environmental activists.