As Russians take to the streets, a time for Biden to support real change
By Polina Sadovskaya, PEN America
Amid the thousands of arrests and brutal, well-documented assaults on peaceful demonstrators in Russia over the past two weeks, something different is happening this frigid winter. As in Belarus, where the machinery of oppression hasn’t stopped thousands from continuing to take to the country’s streets to oppose an authoritarian regime, Russian protesters are refusing to be silent, their ranks are swelling, and the Russian attacks on independent media — while ghastly — are signs that the Putin system of corrupt, anti-democratic governance is getting more and more fragile by the day.
While the U.S. has hemorrhaged credibility when it comes to democratic norms these past few years, now’s the moment for the Biden-Harris administration to commit to its promise of standing up to Putin, and use diplomacy to rally the world behind the women and men who’ve risked everything to demand real, lasting change in Russia.
The demonstrations began following the arrest of opposition leader Alexei Navalny — sentenced Tuesday to serve two years and eight months in a Russian prison — but it would be overly simplistic to say the rallies are necessarily in support of Navalny himself. Surely those who agree with him have been at the forefront, but Russians don’t need Navalny to understand the deep corruption and democratic decline their country has endured in recent years.
What Navalny has done is use investigative journalism and exposés to highlight the depth of hypocrisy and self-dealing that comes from Putin himself. Navalny’s recent investigation into the so-called “palace of Putin” revealed for many its existence and that the president is undertaking another million dollar reconstruction of his palace — the previous one having been consumed by mold. Those taking to the streets are venting outrage at such corruption.
Putin’s response: Use the full power of the state to crush the protests. Police this past weekend were seen using electroshock devices and tear gas against peaceful protesters, and threatening them with firearms. The current count of the detentions over this past weekend is more than 5,600 across some 90 Russian cities, according to the Russian-language news website OVD Info.
Despite the beatings, fines, and administrative and criminal cases initiated by the Russian authorities against demonstrators, in some cities the number of participants in protests has only increased. A poll out of Moscow showed that some 42 percent of protesters on January 23 were taking to the streets for the first time. There’s an outrage that can’t be shut down by beatings and imprisonment. And it’s got Putin and his allies running scared.
How do we know? Alongside the attempted silencing of demonstrators, Putin’s government is waging its widest campaign to date against the ever-resilient independent press. The Russian trade union of journalists recorded some 180 rights violations against journalists covering the demonstrations over the past two weekends. These violations have primarily included the detention of journalists, as well as three separate incidents of violence and 19 incidents of intimidation, including “warning” visits by police ahead of the January 31 rallies.
Some 10 journalists received court decisions on administrative arrests, one was ordered to serve house arrest, and one has a criminal case lodged against him. The trials are ongoing. Journalists dispatched by news agencies have been sentenced despite the protests of media organizations. But the dragnet is sweeping up even those journalists who’ve been far from any demonstrations.
Ekaterina Ischenko, a journalist in the city of Khabarovsk, was detained Thursday while trying to start a live broadcast in front of a government building. She was later fined 10,000 rubles, or about $131, for “taking part in an unsanctioned demonstration on January 19” — this despite the fact that no demonstrations were held in Khabarovsk on January 19.
On January 30, Sergey Smirnov, editor-in-chief of the independent Russian media outlet Mediazona — created by members of Pussy Riot specifically to investigate police brutality and rights violations in prisons in Russia — was detained while walking with his young son. Smirnov was released later that day but is awaiting trial. Authorities allege he was among the organizers of a January 23 demonstration; Smirnov says he did not even join the protest that day. But under Article 20.2 of Criminal Code of Russia Part 8, he may face up to 30 days in prison for “repeated violation of the law on demonstrations.”
So what happens now?
Tuesday’s court decision puts Navalny out of the spotlight well beyond Russian legislative elections this September. But even with him behind bars, it appears officials weren’t prepared for the outpouring of outrage in the streets, nor for the fearlessness of the reporters who dare transmit the images and videos and stories across Russia and out into the wider world.
The Biden-Harris administration has made it clear that it wants a new relationship with Russia. Already President Biden has taken a harder line on bounties put on American service members heads, as well as the SolarWinds hack, election interference, and yes even Navalny’s poisoning.
But the White House needs to take a step further, demanding that Russian authorities stop its attack on its own citizens, allow for dissent and differing views, and allow an independent press to flourish. If the Biden-Harris administration is serious about restoring America’s credibility when it comes to democratic accountability, this is the ultimate proving ground.
Polina Sadovskaya is the Eurasia program director at the literary and free expression organization PEN America.
