Putinism Under Siege: The Protesters and The Public

In the December 2011 protests that shook Russia, civic mobilization took place in two phases: first, in the form of a protest vote during the December State Duma elections, and second, in the postelection street protests in Moscow and in Russia’ s larger regional capitals. To its credit, the Russian opposition was able to quickly tie the problem of electoral fraud to the current structure of the Russian political system, and to speedily organize large protest rallies in response. Yet more needs to be done.