New Eastern Europe - November-December 2017

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The social situation is largely due to the Russian system. The system wants to

continue to exist and wants to develop, but the path which it has entered is ab-

solutely at a dead end. The youth protests, which took place recently, show once

again that young people understand they do not want to live in a country that is

politically and economically backwards. They do not want to live in a country that

has already been subjected to international isolation. Yet it is impossible to break

out of this isolation without changing policy. And it is impossible to change policy

without losing the face of the Kremlin elite, hence the dead-end situation.

Russian revanchism

Konstantin Zatulin, a member of the Duma who chairs the committee for

Russian nationals abroad, has said that “for 20 years we’ve heard the voices”. This

is an illustrative demagogic Russian expression. In fact, the Kremlin has been or-

ganising these kinds of voices for the past 25 years. In regions such as Crimea (or

where other conflicts were), Kremlin forces has tried to raise public opinion in

favour of Russia in opposition to the West and a western-oriented direction. The

organisation of these voices is a fact known to everyone. The efforts include the

propaganda machine and the “building” of relations along with visits by Russian

History & Memory How Russia interprets 1917, Nikita Petrov

Nikita Petrov (left) during the “Europe with a View to the Future” forum held

at the European Solidarity Centre in Gdańsk, May 25 – 27th 2017.

Photo: D. Linkowski/Archiwum ECS