Almost all Russian citizens have heard of such a term as “unsystematic opposition”. But each person has his own idea of ​​its essence. Often this opinion has a rather distant relation to reality. So what is the non-systemic opposition in Russia, what are the tasks and who are its leaders? Let's find the exact answers to these questions.
The concept of non-systemic opposition
Non-systemic opposition is a political force opposing the current government of the country, but using mostly non-parliamentary methods of struggle. Such organizations rarely take part in elections. They express their political position by holding protests, public calls to sabotage decisions of authorities, and sometimes to forcefully overthrow them.
This state of affairs may be due to several factors:
- The lack of faith of those who join the non-systemic opposition in the possibility of democratically removing political forces in power from power control.
- Purposeful actions of representatives of government bodies to prevent certain organizations from participating in the election process.
- An official ban on the activities of some organizations that belong to non-systemic opposition.
The last paragraph relates mainly to various groups whose activities are extremist or anti-state. Criticism of government actions by representatives of a non-systemic opposition is far from always constructive. Often they speak out against any steps taken by the authorities.
The emergence of non-systemic opposition
The term "non-systemic opposition" appeared in Russia around the beginning of the current millennium. In 2003, during the elections to the State Duma, the liberal party Yabloko, led by Grigory Yavlinsky, and the Union of Right Forces (SPS) led by Boris Nemtsov did not go to parliament. Only those communities that, to one degree or another, supported the policies of the current leadership of the Russian Federation, got into the State Duma. Thus, a number of individuals who were previously considered to be the “heavyweights” of the political Olympus remained outside the country's parliamentary life. This fact triggered on their part the accusation of falsification of elections by government officials.
Unable to influence the life of the country by parliamentary means, the opposition forces were forced to act by other methods. They began to organize mass protests in the form of disobedience to the authorities. Since this type of activity was new to them, and popularity among the population was falling more and more, the liberal forces that remained outside the parliament were forced to look for more experienced allies in the game in this field. They turned out to be various opposition groups that have semi-legal status in Russia, or are generally prohibited. The most significant of these were the National Bolshevik Party of Eduard Limonov and the Vanguard of the Red Youth of Sergei Udaltsov. So, non-systemic opposition arose.
The history of non-systemic opposition
The first protest rally, uniting Yabloko, the Union of Right Forces and the National Bolshevik Party, took place in March 2004. At that time, the Committee-2008 was organized, in which the legendary chess player Garry Kasparov played one of the leading roles. The main goal of the organization was to prepare for the 2008 presidential election, since in 2004, as it was believed, the opposition had no chance. In March 2005, the youth structures of the Yabloko party and the Union of Right Forces created the public movement Defense. One of its leaders was Ilya Yashin.
In the summer of 2005, Garry Kasparov became the head of the newly created organization - the United Civil Front. In the same year, this community initiated the first “March of Dissent” - a street protest rally with the aim of changing the political regime. Other opposition organizations joined this event. “Dissenters’ marches ”were regularly held from 2005 to 2009. They became the main form of expression of the position of opponents of the current government.
Union attempt
In 2006, representatives of the non-systemic opposition made an attempt to unite into one organization, which would coordinate their common actions. It was disunity that was the main reason for the political failure of the opposition. However, given its variegation, this is not surprising. The new association was called "Another Russia." It included opposition organizations such as the United Front Fatherland, National Bolsheviks, Oborona, Trudovaya Rossiya, AKM, Smena. It was The Other Russia that coordinated the general actions of the opposition forces and the holding of the March of Dissent.
However, while during the protest rallies of this organization it was possible to create mass action, in the struggle for votes, parties representing non-systemic opposition continued to lose. Following the 2007 parliamentary elections, they again did not get into the State Duma. Not a single member of the non-systemic opposition participated in the 2008 presidential election: Garry Kasparov and Mikhail Kasyanov were denied registration due to non-compliance with the procedure, and Boris Nemtsov himself withdrew. The completely different ideological foundation of the opposition organizations predetermined the collapse of “Other Russia”. The association was dissolved in 2010, and the brand itself began to be used by the party created by Eduard Limonov.
From the collapse of “Other Russia” to Bolotnaya
In 2010, a new stage in the history of non-systemic opposition began. From that moment, it broke up again, although more than once organizations have attempted to unite. During this period, the blogger Alexei Navalny, who was previously a member of the Yabloko party, became popular with the general public. He earned fame for his anti-corruption articles. At the same time, human rights activist Violetta Volkova entered the front line of the opposition movement. During this period, such large public actions of the opposition took place as “Day of Anger”, “Strategy-31”, “Putin must leave”, “Marches of millions”, etc.
The most resonant was the “March of Millions” in Moscow in May 2012, which was timed to coincide with the election of Vladimir Putin as president of Russia. The fragmentation of the actions of the opposition again played a key role. Some leaders led their supporters to Bolotnaya Square. There was a forceful dispersal of the action by law enforcement agencies. Mass arrests of activists followed.
Current situation
Currently, the trend continues to decrease in popularity among organizations representing non-systemic opposition among the population. Sometimes there is a rise in the protest movement, as during the rallies held after the revolution in Ukraine. But such actions are episodic and unsystematic in nature. Even the murder of one of the leaders of the movement - Boris Nemtsov - did not lead to mass rallies.
Some representatives of the non-systemic opposition have now emigrated abroad. For example, Garry Kasparov. Among the political forces of the non-systemic opposition now, in comparison with the previous period, the party of Mikhail Kasyanov under the name Parnassus gained great influence.
Political forces
As mentioned above, organizations included in the non-systemic opposition have very different ideological views. In fact, they are united only by a protest against the current government of Russia. Non-systemic opposition includes liberals (Yabloko, PARNAS, formerly SPS), socialists (AKM, Labor Russia), nationalists (NBP), etc.
The leaders
Significant role in the movement is played by leaders of non-systemic opposition. Let's talk about them in more detail. One of the most famous leaders was Boris Nemtsov. Previously, he held the post of governor of the Nizhny Novgorod region, and under Boris Yeltsin he was for some time even the head of the government. But after Vladimir Putin came to power, he went into the deaf opposition. Since 1999, he led the ATP party. Until 2003, he was the leader of the faction of the same name in the State Duma. In 2008, after the dissolution of the Union of Right Forces, initiated the creation of the Solidarity movement. Later he was one of the co-founders of the party "RPR-PARNAS". Killed in February 2015.
Another representative of the non-systemic opposition that has previously been in power is Mikhail Kasyanov. In the early 2000s, he was the head of the Russian government. Then he went into open opposition. He is the leader of the party Parnassus.
Prominent opposition figures include Violetta Volkova. She is a lawyer by profession, so she concentrated her main efforts on advocacy. The peak of its activity was in 2011-2012.
Alexey Navalny is a well-known blogger who criticizes the authorities and reveals corruption schemes. He was previously a member of the Yabloko party, but then expelled from it. Despite the fact that Navalny is an ardent critic of corruption in government, he himself was convicted of embezzlement of property, received a suspended sentence. True, representatives of the opposition believe that this case is fabricated.
Garry Kasparov, the legendary world chess champion, also takes an active part in protest movements. Especially active - after 2005. He was the main initiator of the creation of the UGF movement, as well as the holding of the “March of Dissent”. Currently left Russia.
Sentiment in society
There is a rather mixed opinion in society regarding leaders of unsystematic opposition. Their popularity is constantly falling, and the level of support of government representatives is growing. Even some of those people who are dissatisfied with the actions of the current government believe that there are no leaders in the non-systemic opposition who can adequately lead the country. Words resonated by the head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, about unsystematic opposition aroused public resonance . They were broadcast by many television channels. He said that opposition leaders are trying to gain fame on criticism of the Russian president and the difficult economic situation in the country, and are conducting subversive activities. For this they should be judged by the severity of the law. What Kadyrov said about the non-systemic opposition reflects the views on it of a significant part of the country's population.
At the same time, it should be said that there is a certain layer of society that fully supports the actions of leaders of opposition forces.
Prospects
The future of non-systemic opposition is rather vague. Her support among voters is falling more and more. The chances that representatives of the opposition forces will be able to get into parliament are approaching zero. The disunity between the individual opposition organizations is quite strong, and the unions are situational. At the same time, it should be noted that in many respects it depends on the Russian government how strong protest moods will be in society. Raising the living standards of the population can further reduce the role of opposition forces.