@Russia.com: Online & Offline Protest

Author(s): Maxine David
Editor(s): Stephen Aris, Matthias Neumann, Robert Orttung, Jeronim Perovic, Heiko Pleines, Hans-Henning Schröder, Aglaya Snetkov
Series: Russian Analytical Digest (RAD)
Issue: 134
Pages: 5-8
Publisher(s): Center for Security Studies (CSS), ETH Zurich; Research Centre for East European Studies, University of Bremen; Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies, George Washington University
Publication Year: 2013

As online activism in Russia has combined with offline activism in the form of street protests, questions have been asked about whether we are witnessing a societal awakening that will result in widespread political and social change. More questions remain, however, about how representative protest has been or whether it is restricted to the comfortable urban middle classes. In the meantime, the state response has been swift and repressive, instilling fear amongst ordinary Russians and demonstrating capacity to extinguish the reformist agenda. This article looks at online demographics in Russia and what they mean for offline protest and political reform.

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