Sociologists figured out who goes to rallies and whom these people would like to see instead of Putin and United Russia
Record rallies in Moscow against the “rigged” elections to the State Duma and the political system “imposed on top” made observers wonder who the backbone of the disgruntled was. If about the organizers and those who rush into the leaders of the "new oppositionists", everything is clear - they are already in sight, then the composition of the many thousands of crowds can only be evaluated "by eye", because even polls from sociologists held at the rally cannot give one hundred percent correct result. However, the main conclusion is also clear: representatives of the middle class, matured during the years of Vladimir Putin’s power, came to the square.
A significant part of the December rally 24 on the prospect of Academician Sakharov is the so-called "office plankton", to which the opposition, until recently, was more than condescending. Now, these people have provided her with creative slogans for a long time to come and demonstrated good breeding and respect for each other and the rest. “Once in the crowd of the rally, these people politely gave each other a place and bought coffee in plastic cups to a bewildered policeman,” Kommersant writes.
The leaders of the non-systemic opposition, whom Putin called Banderlog with the Russians during his “straight line”, rejoice, in part even proudly, that they are broadcasting from the stands at the rally not to “disadvantaged, unemployed, migrant workers and beggars,” but to “white collar, managers, Internet activists, cultural and art workers. " “It was a creative Moscow. Fully educated and intelligent,” Boris Nemtsov quotes Nezavisimaya Gazeta. The fact that the same intelligent Moscow boos them and “sends them home” does not seem to bother the opposition leaders.
Another member of the organizing committee of the rallies, Vladimir Ryzhkov, called the protesters "the elite of society for education and occupation," "people who determine the future of the country." Interestingly, the first deputy head of the Kremlin administration, Vladislav Surkov, called the rally participants the “best part of society”. And in general, the representatives of the authorities seem to be competing who will be most complimentary about those who are dissatisfied with the government.
So, the new head of the presidential administration, Chief Surkov Sergey Ivanov, said after the rally on Sakharov Avenue, that this was “specifically a demonstration of the presence of free speech” in Russia. And on Tuesday, Emergency Situations Minister Sergei Shoigu said that he “supports everyone who goes to these rallies, demanding respect for himself,” ITAR-TASS quoted.
Shoigu admitted that the main part of the protest actions was directed against Vladimir Putin, and he is perplexed about this. “I remember an anecdote all the time, when one man dragged details from the bed factory to the house. I wanted to assemble the bed. I dragged it, the Kalashnikov assault rifle turns out anyway. The bed does not work. So we don’t have a rally for some reason lately , he grows up in a rally against Putin, "the minister complained.
"This is what I do not perceive and do not understand, because I am absolutely sure that this person knows what he is doing, this person is looking to the future, he is experienced. I will not evaluate whether he filled cones or did not fill cones: we went with him a serious crisis. I don’t understand why this is the main goal today. Or rather, I understand, I hope, everyone else will understand, "summed up the head of the Emergencies Ministry, whose words are given by Interfax.
However, as the media outlets, whose review is presented by the “Headlines” website, emphasize, this speaks not so much about the loyalty of the authorities and readiness to listen to the demands of the protesters, as about trying to even protests to merit it. Apparently, Vladimir Putin set the tone, who, starting from the “straight line”, immediately declared protests: “It pleases me, and if this is the result of Putin’s regime, then it’s good.” And “NG”, commenting on Ivanov’s remark, directly writes that it “can rather be interpreted as a compliment of the authority that allowed people to go to the square with impunity”.
Who protests and what to expect from them
Nezavisimaya Gazeta cites the results of the Levada Center survey on Sakharov Avenue, in which a 791 man took part. The survey was commissioned by the organizing committee of the rally. Sociologists have found out the following: more than 60% of participants are people from 18 to 40 years. More than 70% - with higher and incomplete higher education. Every fourth is a manager: either the owner of his own business, or a person who has subordinates. 12% of protesters are students. 70% of the participants share the liberal, democratic views. 24% profess left ideas.
The main motives of those who came to Sakharov Avenue: indignation of election fraud (72,5%), dissatisfaction with the state of affairs in the country (72,8%), dissatisfaction with the fact that the government does not deal with such people as the rally participant interviewed (51,7%), disappointment in the modernization and the president Dmitry Medvedev (41,7%), solidarity with the parties participating in the rally (15,2%), sympathies with the organizers (13%). Another 15,5% went for the company with friends or just for the sake of interest, write "Vedomosti".
The favorite party of the audience was Yabloko: it was for her that 37,6% of the protesters voted in the elections. The CPRF is the second most popular (19,1%), the third is the Social Revolutionary (11,8%). 6,5% sympathizes with the "right cause", as much LDPR, United Russia - less than one percent. 13% admitted that they did not vote.
In the next election, if the non-system opposition were allowed to register, the relative majority (24,2%) would vote for Yabloko, 18,6% would vote for the hypothetical party of Alexei Navalny, 10,9% would give votes to the Communists, 10,3% - to PARNAS, 8 % - Mikhail Prokhorov’s new party, the Social Revolutionaries and the Liberal Democratic Party would have received 5%, and Aleksey Kudrin’s new party - 3,9%.
In the presidential election, a relative majority would have voted for Navalny (22,2%), less willing to support Yavlinsky (20,7%), even less - Prokhorov (14,5%). If there is a second round of elections, the majority would choose not Vladimir Putin, but Zyuganov or Sergey Mironov. The overwhelming majority (67,5%) support the slogan "Not a single vote to Putin!".
The All-Russian Center for the Study of Public Opinion (VTsIOM) also conducted its own survey: the results mostly coincide. True, among the candidates for the presidential election, the VTsIOM respondents most of all supported Prokhorov and Yavlinsky (in 17%). And among the slogans, “For free, fair and fair elections” (37%) caused the greatest approval. Less than those who agree with Putin’s calls for resignation (25%), cancel the election results (19%), “Down with Churov” (9%), “Down with crooks and thieves” (7%).
Power "blinked" a riot in social networks
Meanwhile, “Kommersant” indicates that the government “missed” the opposition rally in social networks, which was going on there lately, without stopping and without limitation on the number. Lively LiveJournal, Facebook and Twitter. “Hundreds of caricatures, photoshoot and videos collected thousands of posts, likes and retweets. In any online voting, United Russia could barely overcome the 7-percent barrier. The police could not overclock these meetings, but the government obviously underestimated them,” the article says.
The country's most popular political blogger, Alexei Navalny, promoted United Russia as the “party of crooks and thieves,” having achieved that the whole country had learned about him by December, and some party members even agreed with him. But after 24 in September, when President Medvedev gave way to Putin at the United Russia congress, there were far fewer jokes on social networks, and much more irritation and anger.
If at the beginning of the year, the real street rally at 500 participants was considered representative, then after the evidence of fraud appeared when counting votes in the State Duma elections, those who had not even thought about this form of civil protest came to the streets: entrepreneurs, consultants, auditors, managers .
The rank-and-file protest participants - businessmen, managers, schoolchildren, glamorous party-goers - and how they became "new oppositionists" are described in detail in the White Guard, forbidden to show the White Guard, under the heading "Profession - Reporter" on the NTV television channel ( VIDEO). He was supposed to go on the air on the day of the December rally 25, however, according to the official version, it was decided on the TV channel that the film was raw, and the stated theme was not disclosed.
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