69Dimon or not Dimon?The film which pushed thousands to protest across Russia was a documentary
investigation by the Anti-Corruption Foundation titled He is not Dimon to you. It
described the corruption practices of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, focus-
ing on his property. The film appeared online in early March this year and before
the rallies started it received more than 14 million views. The authorities, at first,
ignored the documentary, refraining from comment. But Russian internet users
reacted vigorously online. Many opinion leaders commented on the documentary,
which led to more online views. As a result many supported Alexei Navalny’s call
to protest corruption last March.
As the documentary went viral, authorities stepped in and tried to block it from be-
ing viewed. One court ordered Navalny’s organisation to remove particular fragments
of the film: those related to the activities of billionaire Alisher Usmanov and those relat-
ed to the “Sotsgosproekt fund”. Navalny answered matter-of-factly: “We probably will
not do this.” The video is still online and has been viewed by almost 25 million users.
The Russian authorities clearly underestimated the power one online documen-
tary could have. However, there are now signs that they are coming to the realisa-
tion that the interests of the young electorate need be taken into account. In the
first half of May, a clip of Alisa Vox, the former singer of the band Leningrad, ap-
peared online. In the video she ridiculed the participants of the March protests,
playing the role of a teacher who tells an inexperienced schoolboy he does not
understand anything. “Baby, stay out of politics and
go give your brain a shower,” Vox sings. The video
caused a storm of indignation online. Navalny filmed
his commentary: “I really did not understand (the end
was not very legible) whether she said ‘go give your
brain a shower’ or ‘go learn how to keep silent’. The
second is more suitable in meaning. Maybe they will
use it for the next song,” Navalny said.
It is unknown whether the video was made-to-
order or the singer just wanted to express her point
on this heated topic. Nevertheless, the wave of hate that she received online was
probably not one of her expectations. The video was eventually deleted. But au-
thorities continue to adjust to YouTube and the blogosphere with more attempts
to influence younger voters. One strategy used by authorities is to try and establish
co-operation with popular video bloggers.
The Russian
authorities clearly
underestimated
the power
one online
documentary
could have.The Kremlin sets its eyes on YouTube, Svitlana Ovcharova Opinion & Analysis