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Editorial Note: This article was originally published in  «Moskovsky Komsomolets in Tula.» It was later removed following criticism from regional authorities in response to the 2021 protests. The text is republished here as part of an archival project.

The nationwide campaign supporting Alexei Navalny, which included rallies in Tula on January 23 and 31, divided the city’s residents into supporters and opponents of unauthorized gatherings. The impact of politicization was evident even in the usually calm and conservative Tula region. Young people were the main participants in the protests. The authorities reassure themselves that most protesters are TikTok schoolchildren. The opposition believes it has mobilized mature young people into the streets, who will soon have to confront the country’s long-standing issues. We asked young people themselves — young politicians and political scientists born around the 2000s — what they think about the rallies, their causes, significance, and outcomes.

The following guests participated in the discussion at the “Moskovsky Komsomolets-Tula” editorial office.

Daniil Emelyanov, deputy of the Revyakinskoe municipality, head of the youth organization of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, “Vremya Molodykh” (“Time of Youth”), assistant to a deputy of the Tula Regional Duma, and member of the Youth Parliament.

Alina Balabolina, a member of the Spravedlivaya Russia party’s Youth Council and the Youth Parliament of the Tula Regional Duma, 7th convocation.

Valeria Solovyova is a member of the non-profit organization “Gorodskiye proyekty” (“Urban Projects”) and the Russian Society of Political Scientists.

Alexander Dontsov, chairman of the youth branch of the Russian Society of Political Scientists in the Tula Region, is a political scientist and analyst.

Evgenia Gvozdinskaya, a member of the Spravedlivaya Russia party, serves as the chair of the regional branch of Spravedlivaya Russia Youth and is a member of the Youth Parliament of the Tula Regional Duma.

Alexander Shishkin, head of the Tula branch of the non-profit organization “Gorodskiye proyekty,” is a member of the regional branch of the Yabloko political party.

Andrey Belitsky, attorney.

Who Participated in Rallies and Why

The consensus among the meeting participants was that “children” did not take part in the January protests. Most of the protesters were young adults, already in their mid-20s to early 30s. 

“We have data from a group of sociologists who conducted surveys on the streets of Moscow during the protests. It turned out that only 4% of the participants in the January protests were people under 18, and most people were between the ages of 25 and 35,” Alexander Shishkin said.

“As practice shows in the Belarusian and Khabarovsk cases, people aged 26-35 are more interested in protests, as Alexander said. However, the 36-45 age group is more interested than students. In other words, these two age groups are involved in the protest discourse,” Alexander Dontsov clarified.

The main reasons people took to the streets were government repression, a lack of honest dialogue with young people, and frustration with the current regime amid overall economic stagnation in the country. 

“Why did people take to the streets? Because the elections are rigged, the state has become a police state, there is violence, and authorities are implementing mass repression. People don’t want to live in a country that is stagnating and going nowhere. Our economy hasn’t developed for 10 years. I was born in 1999, and my entire adult life has been under the rule of one leader. I will have children under the same leader. It isn’t very comforting to realize that this is happening in the 21st century. People are protesting not so much for Alexei Navalny. I know there were people from Yabloko and the Communist Party there. I can’t say anything about the LDPR. The Liberal Democratic Party of Russia directly supports the current government,” Alexander Shishkin explained.

“People took to the streets not just because of Navalny, but because they were fed up with this government. I was born and raised under Vladimir Vladimirovich. Our conscious life coincided with the most stagnant period in history. It is incorrect to say that people took to the streets for no reason. Navalny was the trigger; he revealed what was happening. And it doesn’t matter how he obtained this information. As Ekaterina Shulman said, he sent three signals to everyone: to us — that they are stealing; to the elites — look, everyone can see you; to the president — that there is a traitor among you,” Valeria Solovyova added.

Alina Balabolina pointed out that many people took part in protests, risking their health and personal well-being, including those at universities. It’s impossible to do this on such a scale just for the sake of money.

“People took part in protests in such large numbers, knowing they could be fined and beaten. How much would it cost to pay people to do that, assuming they didn’t protest for free? I don’t think people were paid. People are just tired,” Alina clarified.

Daniil Emelyanov stated that the pandemic also influenced the scale of the protests.

“I believe these protests are also connected to the pandemic. People have been stuck at home for a long time, and then suddenly, some blogger shouts, ‘Let’s take to the streets!’ Young people may be less critical of the information they receive and might be more likely to follow others’ opinions. This is a major issue. No LDPR party supporters participated in or supported this action for various reasons. First, because the action is illegal and uncoordinated, we do not support it, as we see it as dangerous. They might join an illegal protest, putting themselves at risk. They are committing an administrative offense. After all, there’s a specific process for coordinating protests, including notifying the authorities, which is a safer way to proceed,” Daniil said.

Alexander Shishkin explained that young people are frustrated by the gap between the real world they experience and the information provided by state media.

“The government is currently using propaganda, while the opposition relies on facts,” Alexander noted. “When a person looks at the dollar exchange rate and sees the numbers, that is a fact; when someone is beaten with a baton, that is a fact; when someone is imprisoned on false charges, that is a fact. On the propaganda side, there is only fiction: they recruited children. What children? No political group calling for protests recruited children. All we see on TV is that we are surrounded by Western agents aiming to destroy us. Honest, decent people wanting to do good in this country are imprisoned and fined. Young people are threatened with expulsion from university. The head of Astrakhan City Projects was expelled from Astrakhan State University. Ilya Varlamov, our entire organization, and I, with support from Yabloko, will attempt to demonstrate to this rector that his repressions were unjustified. How can an honest person with ideals stand against this system?”

Any Protest is Cool

Andrei Belitsky believes that protests are a normal part of the country’s political life and should not be feared. Young people need a way to express their energy, and rallies are a great way to do that. 

“There is a strict state system that was established after Boris Yeltsin. Now, most people support protests, whether peaceful or violent. Protest is considered cool regardless. Young people have too much energy and too many restrictions: kindergarten, school, university, and work. All that energy and negativity build up. When we watch the news, the negativity peaks. 

Protest is cool because it allows people to express themselves. When you’re young, you feel small and helpless. But when you’re in a crowd, you straighten your shoulders and become more confident; you feel powerful, and it seems like you can make a difference in the world. 

Right-wing nationalists were absent from this protest. They add a dimension that the left cannot provide. I am referring to the right because our opposition is weakened. What they tell us—that we have opposition parties in parliament—is not true. We actually have no real opposition. There are no prominent leaders. I have doubts about Alexei Navalny. Either he is the opposition, or he is the Kremlin’s most clever project: to bring the most radical leaders out onto the streets and discover their identities,” Andrei said.

Why Violence at Rallies Is Ineffective

Participants in the meeting believe that peaceful protests are a constitutional right. Forcing people to disperse in such situations can lead to negative publicity on social media. Dissatisfied citizens need to be given a voice if they are so fed up that they are willing to violate the Civil Code.

“It is a constitutional right of people to engage in peaceful protest. In Moscow, it still looked like a peaceful protest—there were slogans and signs of a rally. In Tula, that was not the case because there was no organizer. People just stood there, and they were beaten up. The only thing was that people did not leave after being warned through a loudspeaker that the rally was unauthorized. It’s unclear why it was necessary to beat them up, intimidate them, and terrorize them. The protesters posed no danger. The only danger came from the police, as seen in the horrifying footage from Moscow or Kazan. Why beat peaceful protesters and push them face down into the snow? The authorities want to discredit themselves. People would have come out, stood around, shouted, and then dispersed. That’s all. Whether they would have achieved anything is another question. Why is this escalation necessary?” Alexander Shishkin noted.

Alexander Dontsov also questions the effectiveness of forcibly detaining protesters if they are not violating public order or the Criminal Code. Additionally, according to the young political scientist, reports of violence flood social media with negativity, damaging the country’s reputation. 

An important point is that intimidation and detention methods are ineffective, since the main factor in protests is not the size of the demonstrations but their coverage in the news, especially on social media. Currently, the protest has a major flaw: it lacks unity and organization. When a protest involves state violence, more people tend to pay attention. We can see this from the protests in Khabarovsk. Since there was no violence against protesters, the media paid less attention. There were no newsworthy events or triggers. The rally fizzled out. Therefore, I believe it is unreasonable to use detention in small towns where few people attend protests,” Dontsov noted.

“Violence is a well-known way to push young people into action. They are passionate and impulsive. They need chances for self-expression, organization, discussion venues, and debates so they can openly talk about different topics. But here, someone posted a video, and everyone hurried to an unplanned protest. There’s a problem with provocations when we can’t tell the difference between right and wrong. Who threw a plastic cup at whom? Did the police go too far, or were they attacked? There were provocations. I reviewed reports on the Tula rallies, and in the photos, I saw instigators near the square at the Moscow railway station,” Daniil Emelyanov confirmed.

“Alexei Navalny’s Headquarters, the Libertarian Party, Yabloko, Parnas, everyone knows that only peaceful protests are acceptable, and that any violence is incitement,” Alexander Shishkin clarified.

Andrei Belitsky questioned the effectiveness of peaceful protests:

“Do you believe that some political force will come along and replace the existing parties without any violence? Will the current government split into two camps, each with its own security forces, and divide power through elections? Do you think that people who have a tasty morsel in their mouths will give up power? I don’t believe it,” Belitsky said. 

Alexander Shishkin pointed out the dangerous division of opinion in society caused by violence at rallies.

“People are taking part in peaceful protests, while the government is using force. People are seeing that ordinary citizens are being beaten with batons, tasers, and rubber bullets. You may not care who the protesters are, but if they are being killed, beaten, and maimed, then I definitely will not support the punitive forces. The issue is clear: you are either for those who maim or for the protesters,” Shishkin said.

What steps should be taken against protesters at protests?

The attendees at the meeting offered several potential responses to this question.

Alina Balabolina:

“It depends on the government’s goal: whether to stop the protest from spreading or to change the activists’ minds. If it’s the first, then it should be ignored. If it’s the second, then it’s more complicated. People are too tired; they’ve seen where the country was heading for too long. There is a need for long-term educational efforts to improve political literacy.” 

Andrei Belitsky:

“The state has a system for oppressing one class over another. In the torture chambers of the detention center, everyone’s opinions change immediately. That’s how it was in Belarus. They break people’s personalities. The state is not a kind bear.”

Alina Balabolina disagreed with him, pointing out that in such a situation, people would become even angrier because they, along with their relatives and acquaintances, would be detained and beaten.

“And then angry people will indeed be exploited. All states have an apparatus of violence, but many of them also have functioning political institutions. In our country, the electoral system is flawed, and the State Duma represents a minority. Accordingly, if the apparatus of violence is the only thing that functions in a state, that is a problem,” Alexander Dontsov added.

“The conclusion is that young people should be allowed to express themselves legally so they can peacefully demonstrate and share their opinions, rather than resorting to illegal actions. There are many platforms available for self-expression. Rallies and elections are among them, and they should be used. Our young people need to channel their energy into constructive activities,” Daniil Emelyanov concluded.

“I support participating in coordinated actions. I took part in them in 2018 when they tried to block Telegram. There were boundaries, the police maintained order, and everything was organized and controlled. Everyone should feel part of such a movement because it makes you feel connected to something bigger, like being a citizen. But uncoordinated actions won’t lead to positive results. It’s not even about the danger. People are probably so tired and unhappy that they want to speak out. Young people want this and are speaking out, but they want to be heard. That’s the problem. Young people are speaking, but they are not being listened to,”Alina Balabolina confirmed.

Andrei Belitsky argues that individuals who have previously taken part in an unauthorized protest should be allowed to demonstrate peacefully.

Khabarovsk serves as a good example. The way people demonstrated support for Furgal speaks volumes. The authorities acted brilliantly: go wherever you want, demand whatever you want, and we’ll just replace the bathhouse lover. I have nothing negative to say about this young man, but if you take Russian reality seriously, you’ll end up hanging yourself,” Belitsky clarified.

Alexander Dontsov highlights that rallies and the violence during them are often depicted as positive news stories. If authorities want to prevent negative social media posts about themselves, they should avoid giving people reasons to discuss them.

“Rallies are powerful stories that can unite people around a cause. The state does not control all media, such as social media. The role of TikTok in organizing the January protests has become so clear that social media is now taken seriously. Looking at the rallies from 2018 and 2019, representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs did not apologize for causing physical harm to people. This has only just begun. This is what the authorities need to do – create a positive image by showing that cases of violence do not represent the entire police system of the state. Still, only certain individuals apologize, express regret, and face punishment for their actions. That is why an information campaign is underway. They are also trying to run a similar campaign that depicts protesters as aggressive, but it has not been successful on social media. These are more stories for television,” he says.

How the rallies in Tula developed

“There were significantly more people at the rally in Tula than appeared on camera. Many did not enter the park but watched from around it. People wanted to do something but were afraid. About 80 people were detained in Tula. Based on statistics, which suggest that about 5% of protesters are detained, it turns out that there were far more than 150 people,” Alexander Shishkin believed.

Daniil Emelyanov believes that the people around the square are undecided, neither “for” nor “against.” Alina Balabolina mentioned that a few people attended the rally for objective reasons.

“Few people attended the rally in Tula on January 23 because Navalny has no support there. There was a headquarters, but it has been disbanded. In 2017, support was as strong as in other regions. But now, there’s no one to rally like-minded individuals,” she says. 

Andrei Belitsky identified the reason for the citizens’ “hesitation”:

The problem is that our people are patient for too long. They fear losing their jobs at the factory, school, or university. People are scared of the authorities. This has historically been how it develops. There is no middle class. The government elite controls the security forces. The only thing that could happen and change the system is a betrayal from within the security forces.

“What is always the problem with all ideological people? They see their point of view, but they don’t consider the other side: party members, non-party members, those for Navalny, those against Navalny, protesters, police officers. No one ever looks at different perspectives. This needs to be developed not only in young people, but in everyone,” Alina Balabolina clarified.

In the following articles, based on the meeting results, we will share what young political scientists in Tula expect from the upcoming 2021 political season, how they plan to participate in the elections, what issues with the Youth Parliament’s work concern them, and what role political parties play in their lives.