The Truth of Russian Power

The protests in Moscow and other cities following the parliamentary elections in December 2011 did not hail the beginning of a Russian version of the Arab spring. Nor did they represent the belated arrival of a Ukrainian-style colored revolution. Russia is not Egypt, for one thing. Putin is much younger than Mubarak – he has been in power for eleven years compared to Mubarak's thirty – and the Russian population is much older than the Egyptian one and less charmed by the promise of democracy. The chances that the Russian army will side with the people are slight to non-existent and the Russian opposition lacks the organizational strength of the Islamists. While the protesters in Egypt succeeded in occupying the public square, protesters in Moscow merely visited it. Finally, the Russian authorities are better equipped financially and politically to stay in power.