University community members are speaking out both against and in favor of Russian political opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s arrest on Jan. 17 that has since sparked nationwide protests.
Sabrina Pinnell, a San Jose State political science lecturer, said Navalny is part of a new “protest movement” that Russia hasn’t seen since Russia’s president Vladimir Putin rose to power in 1998.
“[Russians are] not going to be able to wait for institutional change because the institution has become so entrenched to support prudent and undemocratic rule that if we don’t hit the streets, we may not have this chance again,” Pinnell said in a Zoom call.
Navalny was arrested upon his return to Russia for violating the terms of a suspended 2014 conviction for money laundering, according to Jan. 23 Global News article.
Pinnell, who has expertise in post-Soviet politics, said while Navalny is a well-known domestic critic of Putin, his name may be more recognizable outside the country than within it. She said he’s received condemnation from several countries including the U.S.
“We have this illusion that all Russians have the same amount of media exposure, the ability to choose their media sources and [the public is] able to get a wide enough net of information that they know enough about [Navalny],” Pinnel said. “That is not necessarily true.”
Navalny believes the arrest was an illegitimate ploy by Putin, who he also blames for his nearly fatal poisoning with a chemical nerve agent in August, according to the same Global News article.
He spent the following months in a Berlin hospital after coming out of an induced coma before returning to Russia, according to the same article.
While Putin has denied any involvement, Navalny and his supporters have repeatedly placed blame on the Kremlin, the Russian Federation government, according to a Dec. 17, 2020 AP News article.
“People who grew up under Vladimir Putin are people who have never seen a Russia with a really good, strong shot at democracy,” Pinnell said. “[They] have never experienced the freedom that people in the [’90s] hoped would come about in Russia.”
Helen Kochetkova, a Russian immigrant and University of California, Berkeley junior, said Russian media portrays protests as criminal acts.
“In Russia, it’s really hard to find an unbiased source of news,” Kochetkova said in a Zoom call.
She said Russian media outlets describe protests as “destroying peace and order” as opposed to voicing public concern and promoting change.
Pinnell said even though protests in Russia aren’t a “healthy expression of the crowd,” protests are growing in numbers as Navalny illuminates Russia’s larger issue of corruption.
Tens of thousands of people throughout Russian cities have protested since Navalny’s arrest and sentencing, according to a Feb. 1 Los Angeles Times article.
Navalny will spend the next two years and eight months in a Russian penal colony after already serving 10 months under house arrest during an earlier phase of the trial, according to a Feb. 2 VOA News article.
“There are a lot of people on the streets, they’re not afraid to get arrested,” Pinnell said. “They’re not afraid to go to jail but they understand if this is the only way we can push for change, then we’ve got to take this chance now.”
According to a Sunday Wall Street Journal article, the Kremlin’s treatment of Navalny lit the fuse for protests and they’ve become an outlet for Russians’ widespread grievances regarding poor living standards, collapsing infrastructure and political corruption.
However, Pinnell said Russian protests may be the country’s only chance for change and if this series of public outcry loses momentum, another generation may once again give up fighting for democracy.
Navalny posted a video to Twitter on Jan. 18 where he told his followers, “Don’t be afraid, take to the streets. Don’t go out for me, go out for yourself and your future.”
Kochetkova said she thinks Navalny reminds us all of what we’re fighting for, which is freedom, democracy, rights and justice in every country.
“By looking at what’s going on in Russia, Americans can learn to appreciate the more established rights they have here,” she said.
However Aleksa Krnjajic, a Fall 2020 SJSU alumnus, said he opposes Navalny and sees him as a “western puppet.”
Krnjajic warns that Navlny isn’t a hero and his regime would be subservient to the U.S.
He said the fact that the U.S. government is openly supporting a dissident against a geopolitical rival like Russia is hard evidence that he’s a comprador and asset to expanding Western hegemony.
A photo of Navalny making a heart sign toward his wife during his sentencing on Feb. 2 has become a prominent demonstration symbol. This led to a Valentine’s Day protest Sunday across Russia inviting Navalny’s supporters to stand outside for 15 minutes and make a heart sign with candles.
