JRL NEWSWATCH: “In Russia’s Far East, a New Face of Resistance to Putin’s Reign” – New York Times/ Anton Troianovski
“As the protests swell in the city of Khabarovsk, 4,000 miles from Moscow, residents who had never before found a public outlet for anger are becoming activists.”
“… [P]rotests in Khabarovsk reached well into the tens of thousands … establishing this distant city – some 4,000 miles from Moscow – as the site of the biggest popular challenge to … Putin’s authority that … Russia’s far-flung regions ha[ve] produced in his 20 years in power. The protests have no leader and few concrete demands[] [b]ut … have … turn[ed] apolitical residents into activists overnight and show[n] how quickly … embers of discontent over corruption, poverty and the stranglehold of … Putin’s rule can ignite a conflagration. … The crowds … have grown for three consecutive Saturdays, with some estimates putting last weekend’s … at more than 50,000 – a spurt of spontaneous political activism … rare in Russia. …”