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When do the post office & the dmv weigh in on the wuhan virus?

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T R E 4 5 O N

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You are here: Home / Foreign Affairs / The Maskirovka Slips XII: Anti-Corruption Protests in Russia Edition

The Maskirovka Slips XII: Anti-Corruption Protests in Russia Edition

by | 93 Comments

This post is in: ,

Protests are underway in Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Here’s the video that Weiss linked to:

And here’s an English translation (via Google Translate) of the caption and statement below the video:

He’s not Dimon to us.

Protest action in Moscow

In dozens of Russian cities on March 26, anti-corruption protests took place. They involved from several dozen to several thousand people. The rallies took place even in those cities where the authorities officially banned their conduct. Radio Liberty conducted a live broadcast of protest actions.

In Moscow, the uncoordinated action took place in the format of a walk. According to various sources, eight to 20 thousand people took part in it. The human rights project “OVD-Info” reports more than 600 detainees. The police used force against activists. Despite several injured at the hands of law enforcement officials, in the mayor’s office of Moscow, the police called “impeccable.”
The Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) in early March published an investigation of the undeclared real estate of Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and his possible involvement in corruption. The film “He did not give you a Dimon” typed more than 10 million views on YouTube, but neither the Prime Minister nor his representatives responded to the charges, no federal Russian television channel told about the investigation of FBK. In this regard, Navalny appealed to his supporters across Russia on March 26 to go to protest rallies with the demand to investigate information about Medvedev’s real estate.

Apparently even the cows are fed up!

After several years of Putin directed propagandizing of his own citizens, crackdowns on dissent, and the consolidation of power in Putin’s hands it is encouraging to see that Russia’s Gray Zone, its civic culture still has some antibodies left to fight back.

We’ll keep an eye out in case things turn ugly.

Reader Interactions

93Comments

  1. 1.

    lamh36

    Adam…have you seen this…

    @MollyMcKew
    Kremlin threatens to leak everything on Obama admin if leaks continue from DC. The rabbit hole gets deeper and deeper

    Folks are calling it out…

    @MisterKolak
    @MollyMcKew IMO It’s a stunt. Propaganda. A blackmailer does not publicizes the existence of compromising information or the targets. >>

    @MollyMcKew
    @MisterKolak In this case, a reminder to American pol elite that Moscow might have a surprise for you. It’s about control, info environment

  3. 3.

    Adam L Silverman

    @lamh36: Yes. I’ve got the entire transcript. I’ve gone through it. I had planed to do a North Korean post today and a post on what McKew reported. It’s going to be a long day…

  4. 4.

    germy

    Michelle Obama’s first forays back into public have been visits to D.C. public schools in predominantly minority neighborhoods. These visits have drawn extra attention, perhaps because Melania Trump has held very few public events so far.

    Michelle Obama marked International Women’s Day this month by visiting the Cardozo Education Campus and praising its program for recent immigrants. Without mentioning Trump by name, it seemed to be a swipe at his immigration policies.

    I still sort of feel like she’s our FLOTUS.

  5. 5.

    JMG

    Of course Adam will provide much needed information, but I don’t see anybody being that afraid of Kremlin hacking in the US. The Podesta e-mails were nothingburgers hyped up by Republicans and a shallow, venal Washington press corps.

  6. 6.

    lamh36

    @Adam L Silverman: someone was saying what’s the point of this threat though…if they had anything good, why wouldn’t they have used it during Obama term, for ex when he was calling for sacntions…

    I guess as a way to muddy the water? And of course our MSM would love a story to try to tear down Obama’s approval vs Cheeto…so of course they’ll report about it and try for both sides sensationalism if they can

  7. 7.

    Mr Stagger Lee

    There is an documentary on Netflix called” Vlast” about the downfall of an oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky, whose crime he did not offer tribute to Vladmir Putin, and had to nerve in giving back to Russia, to fund a movement to increase democracy in his homeland. Vlad is a Czar in the tribute to others from Ivan to Peter to Alexander III to the Red Czars Lenin and Stalin. They share power with no one.

  8. 8.

    debbie

    These demonstrations are good news. It shows the country isn’t lockstep behind Putin and his corruption.

  9. 9.

    JPL

    @germy: Me too and her husband had better get his butt back in town to be our potus.

    Did the orange cheeto person, mention the mass shooting in Cincinnati last night?

  10. 10.

    WereBear

    @germy: It makes me volcanic; like a percolator full of lava; at all the RWNJ who sniped at her “not being classy enough” and they voted for a FLOTUS…

    Wait, do we even have one? Is it the puppet string pulling daughter he’s highly inappropriate with or the former nude model?

    This, if you cannot tell, is a favorite talking point lately…

  17. 17.

    trollhattan

    @germy:
    I wonder how the whole “fight bullying” thing is going? Have they figured out how to monetize it yet?

  19. 19.

    Pogonip

    @Adam L Silverman: At this rate you’ll have to put in for overtime…

    So I suppose you’ve been too busy to watch Samurai Jack. ? I must say I was surprised. Cole’s readers are an eclectic group; at least one recognized an obscure 100-year-old horror story. So it was a surprise that no one seemed to watch Jack. Oh well. Carry on with the maskirovka!

  21. 21.

    Chet Murthy

    @trollhattan: Ehhh … my druthers, we leave Melania out of it. She’s done a few nasty things, but it seems prety clear she wants none of any of this circus. It ain’t like she could have avoided public speeches of support for Dampnut, nor avoided some hand-wave of a FLOTUS “pet cause” or whatever. She’s stayed well away, and for long enough, that at this point, I think we can put her in the same basket with Tiffany and Barron, maybe?

    It’s daughter-wife that’s got the explaining to do (well, and all the Ivana-spawn + SIL). They’ve been in the thick of it, grifting, clawing, profiting actively.

  23. 23.

    MikeBoyScout

    @zhena gogolia: going after Medvedev because the evidence is there for a compelling story of corruption and (speculation) because the off shoring of the illgotten loot is a known violation of the Russian social contract under Putin. Forces Putin’s hand vis-a-vis Medvedev.

  25. 25.

    D58826

    @germy: Miss them both and Uncle Joe of course. They were a class act as POTUS/FLOTUS and VPOTUS. And so was Jill Biden even though she didn’t get the publicity that Michelle got.

  30. 30.

    AnneWith

    @germy: She’s the FLOTUS of my heart. :)

    OT, but I’ve just added another item to my list of Stuff I Never Thought I’d Do: I now follow Jennifer Fucking Rubin on Twitter. What times we now live in, eh?

  31. 31.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Chet Murthy:

    I don’t know very much — really, almost nothing — about Ivana Trump, but watching her three children, I have to wonder how much of Uday, Qusay, and Lucrezia might be put squarely on her shoulders as well as on their father’s. Is she even any part of her kids’ and grandkids’ lives? (Marla Maples seems to have done a tolerably good job bringing up Tiffany, and Melania at least appears to be eager to keep young Barron from being exposed to excessive stressors.)

    There was talk at one time that Ivana was lobbying to be named Ambassador to her native Czech Republic. Wonder if that’s still on the table, if it ever seriously was.

  35. 35.

    germy

    @D58826: In today’s WaPo Uncle Joe says he would have beaten Durmpf.

    He said he thought himself more qualified than any other candidate.

    “I had a lot of data,” Biden said. “I was fairly confident that if I was the Democratic Party nominee, I had a better-than-even chance of being president.”

  36. 36.

    ruemara

    @germy: He would. When it comes to dueling white dudes, America would have gone with folksy Joe over the Tangerine Tyrant.

  41. 41.

    aimai

    @germy: I work now with little kids, African-American and African born immigrants and refugees. I can’t believe that she is no longer there, as our FLOTUS. She was a shining beacon of grace, hope, and warmth in a cold, cold, world for those little girls.

  42. 42.

    Pogonip

    @Frankensteinbeck: My understanding is Cartoon Network took all the restraints off for this go-round.

    Jack’s alter ego is becoming creepier and creepier. Those filed teeth! Eek!

  43. 43.

    AnneWith

    @ruemara: But moot as I don’t think he would have beaten Hillary.

    Joe, I love you man, but that’s like saying if we all had wings we’d be airplanes.

  47. 47.

    germy

    @aimai:

    I can’t believe that she is no longer there, as our FLOTUS.

    She may not occupy the white house, but her legacy will remain forever.

    She’s writing a book. And she’ll still be a great advocate.

  48. 48.

    Thru the Looking Glass...

    in case things turn ugly.

    ‘In case’? Shouldn’t we be using the word ‘when’?

  49. 49.

    ruemara

    Oh, thanks for the comments regarding Philly. I’m working at the convention center, so I’d prefer to keep commuting to a minimum. Also, good restaurant recommends? ANd by good, try cheap but not a total nutrition disaster.

  50. 50.

    Adam L Silverman

    @lamh36: As we saw with the document dumps of the DNC, DSCC, DCCC, and Podesta emails and documents last year, the Russians have the ability to insert, remove, and/or otherwise adjust the material they’re releasing. It is part of the kompromat and desinforaziya.

  51. 51.

    aimai

    @germy: No, I know. She and President Obama forever changed the White House and the office of the Presidency for the better. No one since Kennedy and Jackie O have graced it with such deliberate, thoughtful, charm and artistry and, frankly, for my money, Kennedy and Jackie O were nothing compared to Michelle and Barack (of course not as a couple, not as parents, not as political and cultural icons). I kick myself every day that I didn’t go down to Washington and take a white house tour while they were there, just to experience the white house during their time in office.

    But I really think they have raised the bar so high for democratic presidents and first spouses that it will be hard to match. They were really peerless in terms of self control as well as grace under pressure.

  54. 54.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @raven: We’ll find out later who the Fashion Nightmares will face…UNC or KY. Gonzaga at this point is favored by 538 to take it all.

  60. 60.

    Yarrow

    @germy: Yes. This. Melania is as guilty as the rest of them. Birther shit. And now she’s so precious she has to stay in her gilt castle with her spawn because he’s too special to move to a new school in January–like every other presidential school age kid in modern memory has done–and they cost us a fortune.

    Washington, D.C. has excellent private schools that can accommodate whatever needs Barron has and they should have moved in January. It’s not like he’s in the final semester of his senior year in high school where it would make sense for him to finish it out. He’s what, ten years old? He can move schools in mid year.

    She’s part of the problem. No exemption for her. Barron gets a pass.

  63. 63.

    Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho

    A perspective:

    John Schindler ‏@20committee

    Rules About Russia:
    Fake opposition is allowed
    Real opposition gets crushed
    Sometimes even Chekists get them confused
    Look out at that point

  65. 65.

    Adam L Silverman

    @ruemara: Germantown Diner. The menu is huge, the food is excellent, and there is a wide variety. You can also hit the Reading terminal market – lots of options there and not terribly expensive. There used to be a great sushi place around the corner from the City Centre Marriott – 1225 Raw Sushi on Sansom Street. If you’re willing and able to head to the boundary of Philadelphia and Montgomery Counties – just on the edge of Elkins Park there are several amazing Korean restaurants. Beyond that, I haven’t lived there since 2005, so my list of potential recommendations is time limited.

  66. 66.

    debbie

    @ruemara:

    All I know is there is a place somewhere on Market Street with cheesesteak so wonderful, I can still almost taste it 28 years later. Probably not what you’re looking for. ;)

  68. 68.

    Adam L Silverman

    @debbie: And stay away from Gino’s and Pat’s they’re tourist traps. Ask the people that work at your hotel where they go to get a steak.

  69. 69.

    Lalophobia

    @Pogonip: I wanted to re-watch the old series before I started on the new episodes. I’d forgotten how damn cinematic it was.

  70. 70.

    Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho

    @JPL: I can’t imagine that he did. It did not involve his favored demographic. The announced suspicion is that it involved a beef between 2 groups at the club. CPD Chief notes it’s very early in the investigation.

    The club in question has been a trouble spot for decades under a variety of names and ownerships, going back to biker gang discord.

  71. 71.

    Pogonip

    @Adam L Silverman: Ah! The Jack fans are tentatively emerging from their burrows! Must be spring!

    I don’t know the other show you mentioned, what’s it about?

    I’ve been stuck in the house, recovering from what I am pretty sure was food poisoning, so I’ve been watching The Outer Limits.

  74. 74.

    hovercraft

    @lamh36:

    I guess as a way to muddy the water? And of course our MSM would love a story to try to tear down Obama’s approval vs Cheeto…so of course they’ll report about it and try for both sides sensationalism if they can

    I suspect the reason Putin didn’t deploy any of this stuff already is as you say, it’s weak sauce if it exists, and secondly he’ saw that for eight years no matter how much they hammered away at him Obama remained relatively popular. People forget that as well as being smart and competent, Obama was likable, so no one not crazy believed he was evil. So they can try, but now they are comparing Obama to this incompetent jackass, and Obama looks better each and every day.

  75. 75.

    Yarrow

    @efgoldman: Yes, but he’s still a child now. All non-adult kids of presidents get a pass. They aren’t responsible for their parents’ choices.

  76. 76.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Pogonip: It was a cartoon adapted from the DC Comic Young Justice.
    Here’s the wiki:
    http://youngjustice.wikia.com/wiki/Young_Justice_Wiki

    Cartoon Network, as they did with the last season of JLU and other DC Comics based cartoons, really badly handled it. Moved its air times around, last minute rescheduling, etc. The folks who did the show have gotten the green light to do a season three. And the fans of the show are exceedingly happy about it. If you’ve got Netflix, you can watch seasons 1 and 2. Both are good, but I think Season 2 is better. It built on the second half of season one, which is when the show really began to start firing on all cylinders every episode.

  79. 79.

    Pogonip

    @Adam L Silverman: Enjoy! We don’t have Netflix. Whenever we get around to getting it I’ll check out the show.

    Samurai Jack didn’t really belong on Cartoon Network; its natural home would have been an artsy-fartsy network like Bravo. And I don’t think they fooled anyone with the villains squirting oil rather than blood. You probably remember Jack’s premiere battle with the beetle robots–the sequence ran 8 minutes or so with no dialogue, and at the end he’s standing atop a whole heap o’dead beetle robots, drenched in blood. Excuse me, oul. Oil!

  80. 80.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Pogonip: It has not been made clear whether DC is going to be dumb enough to let Cartoon Network screw up the resurrected Young Justice or if they’re going to run it on one of the other networks that Time Warner owns.

  81. 81.

    J R in WV

    @raven:

    Raven, I gotta say, I would root for Duke if it was them and the SC Gamecocks. Sorry, and Fuck LBJ, but there it is.

    And it isn’t like I like Duke, never did, never will, but South Carolina? Never did, never will ever never!

  82. 82.

    Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho

    @J R in WV: Duke? Duke? Say it ain’t so. I can’t imagine you rooting for Duke, under any circumstances. I am disappoint.

  86. 86.

    pluky

    @Emerald: let’s not forget Jackie’s number one priority when the kids were young was keeping them as far from the Hyannisport madness as possible.

  87. 87.

    Pogonip

    @Ben Cisco (onboard the Defiant): Well, except for a couple of misfires like the chicken episode, I don’t think they screwed it up. It continued to be visually inventive. My all-time favorite was the sweaty egg-shaped mad scientist who poisoned the well. He was hilarious. And of course everyone loved X-9 and felt bad when Jack killed him.

    I think they DID sneak human killings past cartoon network, in that one with the international bounty hunters. They sure looked dead to me. (The Southern Gentleman character was so annoying Cartoon Network may have given them a pass to kill him.)

  89. 89.

    Chet Murthy

    @SiubhanDuinne: I’m using “Ivana-spawn” as a short-hand for “uday/qusay & daughter-wife”. Maybe it’d be better if I put it that way.

    I sure don’t blame Ivana. Let’s presume she was a terrible mother (no facts in evidence). There are lots of terrible mothers whose children don’t grow up to be grifters who are parties before and during the fact, to endangering our democracy.

  90. 90.

    SgrAstar

    @Adam L Silverman: Adam, jsyk, I appreciate your contributions so much! You have expanded your professorial reach exponentially by doing this…and we have benefitted greatly. Bravo.

  91. 91.

    Chet Murthy

    @Yarrow:

    She’s part of the problem. No exemption for her.

    Mothers do lots of things to protect their children. And we can’t know precisely what their calculations are — what’s in play. I might be too merciful in absolving her. But …. everything she did, can be explained easily as “I’m just doing what I need to do, in my role as Dampnut’s wife”. I guess, I’ve seen people cast stones at a wife and mother who committed “unforgivable sins”, when in fact, she was just trying to keep her children safe.

    Again, I think that the key indicator for me, is that -since- Dampnut’s ascent, she’s played almost no role at all. Her participation is completely passive. And seriously, I think we need to distinguish here, between acts of commission and of omission.

    OTOH, I can understand that others may differ on this point. I can’t say I’m *certain* I’m right. Just … her case is qualitatively different from the Ivana-spawn/SIL. Qualitatively different, I claim.

  92. 92.

    Bill Arnold

    @Adam L Silverman:
    Skimmed the (translated) Maria Zakharova transcript (linked on twitter); looking forward to your take on it. The takeaway from the skim was an impression of some serious misunderstandings of the structure and details of USA politics, a bit disturbing to see in a Foreign Ministry Spokesperson.
    e.g.

    Current developments in the United States are a tremendous blow to democratic values. Why are CNN and other media outlets becoming involved in the political tug-of-war?

    US media outlets suddenly getting involved in politics! /snark.

    Re the threats of information release, not sure Putin fully understands how much political(/reputational/financial) damage could be done to him in retaliation. Political MAD is perhaps a decent analogy. Also, the more fearless subset of the press around the world would probably substantially increasingly chime in with/start competing with each other on open source work.

  93. 93.

    Lurking Canadian

    @lamh36: That’s just crazy. Isn’t the fact that the leaks are pissing off the Russians kind of strong evidence that there’s fire under all the smoke?

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