The inter-regional diffusion of Russian protest repertoires in an international context, 2008 - present

10/12/2011

Tallinn

Protest outside RU consulate

?

https://yandex.ru/maps/?l=map&ll=13.329224%2C43.741679&mode=usermaps&spn=330.468750%2C158.141942&um=RWhMzYXacOxjl1tfovNAJ781J-K9CMzz&z=5.176808142456668

10/12/2011

Alma-Ata

Protest outside RU consulate

?

https://yandex.ru/maps/?l=map&ll=13.329224%2C43.741679&mode=usermaps&spn=330.468750%2C158.141942&um=RWhMzYXacOxjl1tfovNAJ781J-K9CMzz&z=5.176808142456668

10/12/2011

Budapest

?

https://yandex.ru/maps/?l=map&ll=13.329224%2C43.741679&mode=usermaps&spn=330.468750%2C158.141942&um=RWhMzYXacOxjl1tfovNAJ781J-K9CMzz&z=5.176808142456668

10/12/2011

London

Rally outside Parliament

?

"We are with Moscow"
"We are with Russia!"
"Freedom"

https://yandex.ru/maps/?l=map&ll=13.329224%2C43.741679&mode=usermaps&spn=330.468750%2C158.141942&um=RWhMzYXacOxjl1tfovNAJ781J-K9CMzz&z=5.176808142456668

10/12/2011

Rome

?

?

https://yandex.ru/maps/?l=map&ll=13.329224%2C43.741679&mode=usermaps&spn=330.468750%2C158.141942&um=RWhMzYXacOxjl1tfovNAJ781J-K9CMzz&z=5.176808142456668

10/12/2011

The Hague

?

?

https://yandex.ru/maps/?l=map&ll=13.329224%2C43.741679&mode=usermaps&spn=330.468750%2C158.141942&um=RWhMzYXacOxjl1tfovNAJ781J-K9CMzz&z=5.176808142456668

10/12/2011

Madrid

?

?

https://yandex.ru/maps/?l=map&ll=13.329224%2C43.741679&mode=usermaps&spn=330.468750%2C158.141942&um=RWhMzYXacOxjl1tfovNAJ781J-K9CMzz&z=5.176808142456668

10/12/2011

Barcelona

?

?

https://yandex.ru/maps/?l=map&ll=13.329224%2C43.741679&mode=usermaps&spn=330.468750%2C158.141942&um=RWhMzYXacOxjl1tfovNAJ781J-K9CMzz&z=5.176808142456668

10/12/2011

Lisbon

?

?

https://yandex.ru/maps/?l=map&ll=13.329224%2C43.741679&mode=usermaps&spn=330.468750%2C158.141942&um=RWhMzYXacOxjl1tfovNAJ781J-K9CMzz&z=5.176808142456668

10/12/2011

Dublin

?

?

https://yandex.ru/maps/?l=map&ll=13.329224%2C43.741679&mode=usermaps&spn=330.468750%2C158.141942&um=RWhMzYXacOxjl1tfovNAJ781J-K9CMzz&z=5.176808142456668

10/12/2011

Paris

?

?

https://yandex.ru/maps/?l=map&ll=13.329224%2C43.741679&mode=usermaps&spn=330.468750%2C158.141942&um=RWhMzYXacOxjl1tfovNAJ781J-K9CMzz&z=5.176808142456668

10/12/2011

Lyon

?

?

https://yandex.ru/maps/?l=map&ll=13.329224%2C43.741679&mode=usermaps&spn=330.468750%2C158.141942&um=RWhMzYXacOxjl1tfovNAJ781J-K9CMzz&z=5.176808142456668

10/12/2011

Geneva

?

?

https://yandex.ru/maps/?l=map&ll=13.329224%2C43.741679&mode=usermaps&spn=330.468750%2C158.141942&um=RWhMzYXacOxjl1tfovNAJ781J-K9CMzz&z=5.176808142456668

10/12/2011

Cologne

Protest outside RU mission to the UN

?

https://yandex.ru/maps/?l=map&ll=13.329224%2C43.741679&mode=usermaps&spn=330.468750%2C158.141942&um=RWhMzYXacOxjl1tfovNAJ781J-K9CMzz&z=5.176808142456668

10/12/2011

Munich

?

?

https://yandex.ru/maps/?l=map&ll=13.329224%2C43.741679&mode=usermaps&spn=330.468750%2C158.141942&um=RWhMzYXacOxjl1tfovNAJ781J-K9CMzz&z=5.176808142456668

10/12/2011

Hamburg

?

?

https://yandex.ru/maps/?l=map&ll=13.329224%2C43.741679&mode=usermaps&spn=330.468750%2C158.141942&um=RWhMzYXacOxjl1tfovNAJ781J-K9CMzz&z=5.176808142456668

10/12/2011

Freiburg

?

?

https://yandex.ru/maps/?l=map&ll=13.329224%2C43.741679&mode=usermaps&spn=330.468750%2C158.141942&um=RWhMzYXacOxjl1tfovNAJ781J-K9CMzz&z=5.176808142456668

10/12/2011

Frankfurt

?

?

https://yandex.ru/maps/?l=map&ll=13.329224%2C43.741679&mode=usermaps&spn=330.468750%2C158.141942&um=RWhMzYXacOxjl1tfovNAJ781J-K9CMzz&z=5.176808142456668

10/12/2011

Berlin

Protest outside RU consulate

?

https://yandex.ru/maps/?l=map&ll=13.329224%2C43.741679&mode=usermaps&spn=330.468750%2C158.141942&um=RWhMzYXacOxjl1tfovNAJ781J-K9CMzz&z=5.176808142456668

10/12/2011

Kiev

?

?

https://yandex.ru/maps/?l=map&ll=13.329224%2C43.741679&mode=usermaps&spn=330.468750%2C158.141942&um=RWhMzYXacOxjl1tfovNAJ781J-K9CMzz&z=5.176808142456668

10/12/2011

Kharkov

?

?

https://yandex.ru/maps/?l=map&ll=13.329224%2C43.741679&mode=usermaps&spn=330.468750%2C158.141942&um=RWhMzYXacOxjl1tfovNAJ781J-K9CMzz&z=5.176808142456668

10/12/2011

Varna

?

?

https://yandex.ru/maps/?l=map&ll=13.329224%2C43.741679&mode=usermaps&spn=330.468750%2C158.141942&um=RWhMzYXacOxjl1tfovNAJ781J-K9CMzz&z=5.176808142456668

10/12/2011

Prague

Protest outside RU consulate

?

https://yandex.ru/maps/?l=map&ll=13.329224%2C43.741679&mode=usermaps&spn=330.468750%2C158.141942&um=RWhMzYXacOxjl1tfovNAJ781J-K9CMzz&z=5.176808142456668

10/12/2011

Tel Aviv

?

?

https://yandex.ru/maps/?l=map&ll=13.329224%2C43.741679&mode=usermaps&spn=330.468750%2C158.141942&um=RWhMzYXacOxjl1tfovNAJ781J-K9CMzz&z=5.176808142456668

10/12/2011

Tokyo

?

?

https://yandex.ru/maps/?l=map&ll=13.329224%2C43.741679&mode=usermaps&spn=330.468750%2C158.141942&um=RWhMzYXacOxjl1tfovNAJ781J-K9CMzz&z=5.176808142456668

10/12/2011

Montreal

Protest outside RU embassy
Flowers given to journalists and passers by

?

https://yandex.ru/maps/?l=map&ll=13.329224%2C43.741679&mode=usermaps&spn=330.468750%2C158.141942&um=RWhMzYXacOxjl1tfovNAJ781J-K9CMzz&z=5.176808142456668

10/12/2011

Toronto

Protest outside the RU consulate

?

https://yandex.ru/maps/?l=map&ll=13.329224%2C43.741679&mode=usermaps&spn=330.468750%2C158.141942&um=RWhMzYXacOxjl1tfovNAJ781J-K9CMzz&z=5.176808142456668

10/12/2011

Vancouver

?

?

https://yandex.ru/maps/?l=map&ll=13.329224%2C43.741679&mode=usermaps&spn=330.468750%2C158.141942&um=RWhMzYXacOxjl1tfovNAJ781J-K9CMzz&z=5.176808142456668

10/12/2011

New York City

?

?

https://yandex.ru/maps/?l=map&ll=13.329224%2C43.741679&mode=usermaps&spn=330.468750%2C158.141942&um=RWhMzYXacOxjl1tfovNAJ781J-K9CMzz&z=5.176808142456668

10/12/2011

Washington DC

Protest outside RU consulate

?

https://yandex.ru/maps/?l=map&ll=13.329224%2C43.741679&mode=usermaps&spn=330.468750%2C158.141942&um=RWhMzYXacOxjl1tfovNAJ781J-K9CMzz&z=5.176808142456668

10/12/2011

Boston

?

?

https://yandex.ru/maps/?l=map&ll=13.329224%2C43.741679&mode=usermaps&spn=330.468750%2C158.141942&um=RWhMzYXacOxjl1tfovNAJ781J-K9CMzz&z=5.176808142456668

10/12/2011

Chicago

?

?

https://yandex.ru/maps/?l=map&ll=13.329224%2C43.741679&mode=usermaps&spn=330.468750%2C158.141942&um=RWhMzYXacOxjl1tfovNAJ781J-K9CMzz&z=5.176808142456668

10/12/2011

San Francisco

?

?

https://yandex.ru/maps/?l=map&ll=13.329224%2C43.741679&mode=usermaps&spn=330.468750%2C158.141942&um=RWhMzYXacOxjl1tfovNAJ781J-K9CMzz&z=5.176808142456668

10/12/2011

Los Angeles

?

?

https://yandex.ru/maps/?l=map&ll=13.329224%2C43.741679&mode=usermaps&spn=330.468750%2C158.141942&um=RWhMzYXacOxjl1tfovNAJ781J-K9CMzz&z=5.176808142456668

10/12/2011

Cyprus

?

?

https://yandex.ru/maps/?l=map&ll=13.329224%2C43.741679&mode=usermaps&spn=330.468750%2C158.141942&um=RWhMzYXacOxjl1tfovNAJ781J-K9CMzz&z=5.176808142456668

10/12/2011

Oman

?

?

https://yandex.ru/maps/?l=map&ll=13.329224%2C43.741679&mode=usermaps&spn=330.468750%2C158.141942&um=RWhMzYXacOxjl1tfovNAJ781J-K9CMzz&z=5.176808142456668

10/12/2011

Koh Samui

?

?

https://yandex.ru/maps/?l=map&ll=13.329224%2C43.741679&mode=usermaps&spn=330.468750%2C158.141942&um=RWhMzYXacOxjl1tfovNAJ781J-K9CMzz&z=5.176808142456668

10/12/2011

Canberra

Protest outside RU embassy

?

https://yandex.ru/maps/?l=map&ll=13.329224%2C43.741679&mode=usermaps&spn=330.468750%2C158.141942&um=RWhMzYXacOxjl1tfovNAJ781J-K9CMzz&z=5.176808142456668

10/12/2011

Kazan

Rally

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4EE396EC46704.html

10/12/2011

Vologda

Rally

? Solidarity

"We want change"

?

?

11/12/2011

Moscow

Rally

Nationalists

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4EE493F8418F2.html

14/12/2011

Ryazan

Single picket in support of those arrested for election protests

? Citizen's Defence

?

< http://namarsh.ru/materials/4EE9884353751.html

15/12/2011

Volgograd

Farewell' Rally for Anatoly Brovko

Anatoly Byeyevo - former regional deputy

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4EEA03323E8F6.html

17/12/2011

Krasnoyarsk

Picket

Solidarity, PARNAS, Communists, Russian
Democratic Union

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4EEC9B575DB9E.html

17/12/2011

Moscow

Rally

Yabloko

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4EEC88DA584B0.html

17/12/2011

Yaroslavl

Rally

?Solidarity

"Yaroslavl for change"
"While we are silent, they decide for us"
"The people against crooks and thieves"
"They stole our voices"
"Voice stealers - to prison"
"Give us back our voice"
"Moscow and Peter, we are with you"

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4EEDC5AD0FF08.html

18/12/2011

Moscow

Rally

CPRF

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4EEDC5AD0FF08.html

18/12/2011

Nizhny Tagil

Rally

Yegor Bichkov - former head of 'City without Drugs'

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4EEDF4A3E8D06.html

18/12/2011

Kazan

Rally
Handed out white ribbons

? CPRF, Yabloko, Just Russia, Nationalists

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4EEF1C38BC955.html

20/12/2011

Saransk

Rally

CPRF

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4EF2E58BE9BED.html

21/12/2011

Moscow

Rally in front of Duma

?

"We won't allow imposters into parliament"

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4EF1865BC697C.html

24/12/2011

Kurgan

Rally (x3)

Meeting 1: Memorial, United Civil Front, Union of
Soldiers' Mothers, Trade Union 'Defence', Party 'Will'
Meeting 2: 'Youth' via VK
Meeting 3: Communists

Meeting 1: "No to the Party of Crooks and Thieves"
Meeting 2: "United Russia in the trash", "freedom or death"
"We did not see fair elections"

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4EF5E4BC3B5B7.html

24/12/2011

Tobolsk

Rally

?

"United Russia in the trash"
"We came here for free"
"Father Frost, give me a new President for the New Year"

< http://namarsh.ru/materials/4EF5A74CC07D7.html

24/12/2011

Omsk

Rally

?

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4EF5D387A921E.html

24/12/2011

Samara

Rally

Union of people's self-government and public
movement "Samara against "United Russia"

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4EF5DC1ECD66A.html

24/12/2011

Tolyatti

Rally

Union of people's self-government and public
movement "Samara against "United Russia"

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4EF5DC1ECD66A.html

24/12/2011

Sizrany

Rally

Union of people's self-government and public
movement "Samara against "United Russia"

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4EF5DC1ECD66A.html

24/12/2011

Kazan

Rally

?CPRF, Just Russia, Communists, Nationalists

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4EF5F0FD075B2.html

24/12/2011

Voronezh

Rally

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4EF5EB11B189A.html

24/12/2011

Obinsk

Rally
Signatures

? Ecological organisation 'Living City', Solidarity,
Just Russia

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4EF6D701C5831.html

24/12/2011

St. Petersburg

?Rally

? Other Russia

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4EF6EC8E0786D.html

24/12/2011

Kirov

Rally

? Kirov Protest Committee, PARNAS, Russian
Democratic Union, Russian March

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4EF81B15D5F96.html

24/12/2011

Murmansk

Rally

Russian Democratic Union, United Civil Front,
Solidarity, PARNAS, Yabloko

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4EF823A228F51.html

25/12/2011

Arkhangelsk

March
Rally

? Liberal, Left Wing movements

"Return, fair elections!"
"Churov, resign!"
"We won't let UR into the Mayor's Office"
"Putin, don't wait for the fate of Gadaffi"

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4EF6E5F6C9B01.html

26/12/2011

Rostov

Rally

?

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4EF83155B837C.html

26/12/2011

Moscow

? Picket outside Tverskaya Court in support of detained Udaltsov

?

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4EF8818C54F4F.html

29/12/2011

St. Petersburg

Picket in support of Udaltsov

?

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4EFC1A19719C1.html

29/12/2011

Tomsk

Picket in support of Udaltsov

?

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4EFC1A19719C1.html

31/12/2011

Moscow

Rally

Strategy 31

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4EFF15F778B65.html

08/01/2012

Moscow

Rally

Party 'Will'

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F0984664CE1D.html

11/01/2012

St. Petersburg

Picket in front of polling station 'Here they stole our votes'

Solidarity

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F0ED95560660.html

14/01/2012

Saratov

Rally

CPRF

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F119A470AEDE.html

18/01/2012

Voronezh

?Rally

? Solidarity

"Prosecutor's Office, help Slepyanin to find the stolen voices!"
"Deputies, replace the deaf-blind Chairman of the regional election Commission"
"Elections under civil control!"

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F166BC6CF0F1.html

04/02/2012

Barnaul

March
Rally

?

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F2D041EBF854.html

04/02/2012

Abakan

March

?

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F2D041EBF854.html

04/02/2012

Murmansk

Rally
The wives of the dead Murmansk residents, who died on the drilling rig "Kola", put on wetsuits and helmets

?

"Putin, out"
""We remember: Putin - It is the children of Beslan, Nord-OST, Kursk and Kolskaya. Enough!"

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F2D48795FEE2.html

04/02/2012

Penza

Rally

?

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F2D187262257.html

04/02/2012

Samara

Rally
Singing songs

?

"Russia without Putin"
"Samara - for fair elections"
"United Russia in the trash"

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F2D44019DEF3.html

04/02/2012

Kazan

Rally
Distribution of fake US bank notes saying 'One Hillary' (to draw attention to VP comments protestors paid by US State Department)

?

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F2F7B7C5F3E5.html

04/02/2012

Nizhny Novgorod

March
Rally

United Civil Front

"We are for fair elections!"
"Russia without Putin!"
"Freedom for political prisoners!",
"Putin! Ski! Magadan!"
"Shantsev! Suitcase! Moscow!"

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F2F8D08B63E5.html

07/02/2012

Moscow

Picket outside Central Electoral Commission

Other Russia

"We will end the dictatorship!"

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F314A59C87FE.html

12/02/2012

Nizhny Novgorod

Flash mob w/ Putin mannequin

Left Front

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F37C6FF60EF3.html

14/02/2012

Moscow

?Picket outside CEC

Other Russia

"Down with the police state"
"we need another Russia"
" Twelve years -- thank you, no"
"We will end the dictatorship"

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F3A7B71B83C6.html

16/02/2012

Moscow

Single picket outside CEC

United Civil Front

"Twelve years - thank you, no"
"We will end the dictatorship"

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F3D24EF43A7A.html

17/02/2012

Novosibirsk

2 person picket outside Mayor's office

?

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F3E262BA9826.html

18/02/2012

Yaroslavl

"Picket poll": Interviewed about 400 residents - 'How would you vote if the elections were held today?'

Solidarity

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F420EA7B33E5.html

19/02/2012

Moscow

"White streets": 2,000 cars drive around Garden Ring - decorated w/ white ribbon,
snowman sculptures + other white decorations.
Onlookers supported, wearing whtie ribbons

Solidarity leaders: Nemtsov, Yashin
Ksenia Sobchak

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F40D19F9DA16.html

19/02/2012

Nizhny Novgorod

"White streets":
60 cars, which were decorated with white ribbons, balloons, posters with election themes and criticism of administrative resources used by Putin.

?

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F4201FE5814B.html

19/02/2012

Cheboksary

"White streets": 15 cars (approx.) decorated w/ ribbons, balloons,
posters, flags

Solidarity, PARNAS, Russian National Democratic
Union, Yabloko, Left Front, Other Russia, Nationalists

"We are not orange, but white and fluffy"
"not a single vote to Putin".

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F4201FE5814B.html

19/02/2012

Tomsk

"White streets": Approx. 60-75 cars

?

"For a Russia without Putin"

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F420EA7B33E5.html

19/02/2012

Krasnoyarsk

"White streets": Approx. 70 cars

?

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F420EA7B33E5.html

21/02/2012

Moscow

Punk Prayer in Cathedral of Christ the Saviour

Pussy Riot

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F49DDFF62841.html

21/02/2012

Moscow

Picket outside CEC
Threw smoke bombs

Other Russia

"Twelve years - thank you, no"
"Down with the police state"
"We need another Russia"
"We will end the dictatorship"

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F43B7396CBFF.html

23/02/2012

Kamchatka

Rally

CPRF, LDPR

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F46075B2A811.html

23/02/2012

St. Petersburg

Chain self to prison cell in Peter and Paul fortress museum, demand fair elections + release of political prisoners

Other Russia

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F46041BDFA6C.html

24/02/2012

Penza

Rally

CPRF, LDPR

"Putin - United Russia -- corruption, embezzlement, nepotism, lawlessness"
"Putin: "to Friends everything, to the rest - what's left"
"If Zyuganov wins, so do the people"

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F4736CED6DAE.html

25/02/2012

Arkhangelsk

Rally

CPRF

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F48ABC7A579C.html

25/02/2012

Nizhny Novgorod

Picket
Distribute info to passers by about results of Putin's leadership

?

"Russia without Putin"

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F48DE2779F4A.html

25/02/2012

St. Petersburg

March

Garry Kasparov (United Civil Front + Solidarity leader)
Alexei Navalny
Udaltsov (Left Front leader)

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F48B7C1A9242.html

25/02/2012

Ulyanovsk

Picket

?

"I vote against crooks and thieves"

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F48D2258A03B.html

25/02/2012

Tyumen

March

? Solidarity, Other Russia

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F4B3DD1CEAEA.html

25/02/2012

Krasnoyarsk

"White ribbon" flash mob

?

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F4B3DD1CEAEA.html

25/02/2012

Astrakhan

Rally

Strategy 31

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F4B3DD1CEAEA.html

26/02/2012

Arkhangelsk

Rally

?

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F4A05499ED74.html

28/02/2012

Moscow

Picket outside CEC

Other Russia

"We will end the dictatorship!"

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F4CF4161E412.html

01/03/2012

Moscow

Young people wearing black bandages w/ "5.03.2012" w/ five-meter banner "Putin, the protest will not be extinguished" with Putin's photo in a cabin of the plane of the Ministry of emergency situations extinguishing forest fires.
Lit fire and scattered leaflets with the statement of intention to protest right after the announcement of results of elections and to demand to change the political regime by lawful methods.

Yabloko

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F4F5A583C01B.html

02/03/2012

Moscow

Rally

Left Wing forces, esp. Communists

"Against Capitalism"
"Down with the Presidential autocracy"
"Arise, prisoners of starvation!"

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F50F59945350.html

05/03/2012

Moscow

Rally
"White ring" flash mob
NB: Multiple protest actions in different locations e.g. Lubyanka,
Pushkinskaya, Manezhnaya, Tverskaya

Pushkin Square rally: Navalny, Ilya Ponamaryov, Udaltsov
White Ring: ?

"Russia without Putin"
"All for one and one for all"
"Police with the people"
"We will not leave"
"Twelve years, thank you - no"

http://namarsh.ru/material.php?id=4F54FAC5074A1

05/03/2012

Novosibrsk

"March of Doubt" w/ white ribbons

? Monstratsiya

the crowd shouted that soon the head of state will be called Kim Jong-"PU"
"What happened to Russia? It's been sold"
"Putler - kaput"
"They say that the Tsar is not real"
"Better to be doubtful"
"62% - for what?"

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F54CD1676086.html

05/03/2012

St. Petersburg

?Rally

?

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F54CD1676086.html

05/03/2012

Cheboksary

Rally in front of local EC

?Solidarity, Just Russia, CPRF, Left Front, PARNAS
Other Russia

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F55C216E7677.html

05/03/2012

Krasnodar

White ribbon flash mob

?

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F55AB8665263.html

05/03/2012

Murmansk

Rally
flash mob of vegetables, dedicated to the sixth anniversary of the prohibition of the cartoon "Chipollino" as extremist.

new socio-political Association "Civil initiative"

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F56002AF1617.html

05/03/2012

Kazan

"People's gathering": Picket

?

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F55DA2C5ACC2.html

08/03/2012

Moscow

Walking on Red Square wearing white ribbons, releasing white balloons

?

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F5896768678C.html

10/03/2012

Komsomolsk on Amur

Picket
Handing out 'Red Spark' newspaper

Communists

?

< http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F5B37D4724F5.html

10/03/2012

Krasnoyarsk

Single pickets (some w/ blank paper to symbolise that it is impossible to comment on the situation in the country)

?

"I am against"
"I don't trust the mass media, I trust my eyes"
"Today they close our mouths, tomorrow…"

< http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F5B37D4724F5.html

10/03/2012

Izhevsk

Rally + Picket

?

?

< http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F5B37D4724F5.html

10/03/2012

Moscow

Rally on Novy Arbat

? Solidarity, Left Front, Kasparov, Nationalists

"Putin is a thief"
NB: One speaker mentions Orange Revolution

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F5B1423124AE.html

10/03/2012

St. Petersburg

March / or "Walk" on Nevsky Prospekt

?

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F5B1423124AE.html

10/03/2012

Nizhny Novgorod

Rally

? Other Russia

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F5B411D6E559.html

10/03/2012

Penza

Rally

Communists

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F5B149CA824C.html

10/03/2012

Tambov

Rally

Civic organisation "Enough!"

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F5B548E75E0D.html

10/03/2012

Tomsk

"Opposition walk"
Handing out white and orange balloons, white ribbons
Activists played chess (white = opposition, black = govt) - others
loudly comment

?

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F5B3E6294BA8.html

10/03/2012

Voronezh

March

?Solidarity

"Putin is not our President"
"Russia without Putin"
"Churov in court"
"Down with thieves' elections"

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F5B4764B0D11.html

10/03/2012

Kazan

Rally

CPRF

"Putin is a thief"
"Shame"

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F5C5118F045C.html

15/03/2012

Astrakhan

Hunger strike to protest results in local Duma elections

deputy of the Astrakhan Regional Duma Alexander Kamanin
the former chairman of the Astrakhan city council Yevgeny Dunaev
journalists
members of election commissions

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F61F11FA423C.html

17/03/2012

Moscow

Rally

Udaltsov

"Imposters - away from the Kremlin"
"Freedom to political prisoners"
"Shame on NTV"

http://namarsh.ru/material.php?id=4F64613FB4A1D

18/03/2012

Moscow

"Night walk" w/ white balloons and ribbons

Opposition movement "Breakthrough"

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F65905222C73.html

18/03/2012

Moscow

Rally outside NTV
ribbons with the inscription “NTV lies". Many came with bouquets of artificial and fresh flowers as a sign of mourning on free television.

?

"NTV lies"

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F65BF66414CF.html

19/03/2012

Orel

Rally

Golos, United Civil Front, Just Russia, Communists

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F67157633E28.html

18/03/2012

St. Petersburg

Return TV sets
Leaflet: "Outraged by false propaganda, we leave our TV sets to the TV company, because we do not want to watch the NTV channel anymore"
30 silver coins thrown at the entrance of the TV company completed the action. "We leave NTV 30 pieces of silver, for which they sold the trust of the audience and the reputation that they created for many years,"

? (attended by Nemtsov, Udaltsov)

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F65E2FCD2724.html

18/03/2012

Ulyanovsk

Picket

?

"Russia without Putin"

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F66DC4A18035.html

19/03/2012

Astrakhan

Picket in support of hunger strikers

Strategy 31

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F670D8E8C307.html

19/03/2012

Moscow

Single picket against NTV

Lev Ponomaryov

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F67679848283.html

19/03/2012

Nizhny Novgorod

Single picket - placard against Kremlin

Strategy 31

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F66C07C33C2E.html

24/03/2012

Moscow

Opposition open press conference announcing 'White week'

?

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F6DA2538C282.html

24/03/2012

St. Petersburg

March

? Yabloko, Other Russia

"Putin is a thief"
"One for all and all for one"
"Third term - prison term"
"Putin on a prison bed"

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F6D9E8C3F12E.html

25/03/2012

Moscow

Wearing white ribbons on Vasilevsky Descent

? Solidarity

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F6F108244907.html

26/03/2012

St. Petersburg

Rally

National Syndicalists

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F7018ED05C07.html

28/03/2012

Voronezh

Single pickets

Voronezh for Fair Elections

"Putin you are not welcome here"

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F73116782085.html

01/04/2012

Moscow

White ribbon flash mob on Red Square

For Fair Elections' movement (but which?)

NB: Referred to those detained for wearing white ribbons on Vasilievsky descent - " We believe that this is an example of blatant discrimination-like how half a century ago in the southern States of the United States blacks were not allowed in cafes and buses"

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F781CB69AFDA.html

05/04/2012

Blagoveshchensk

Picket in support of Pussy Riot, against homophobic laws

Yabloko

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F7D90202ACD4.html

07/04/2012

Moscow

Open meeting' of For Fair Elections Organisational Committee
in form of a rally

For Fair Elections movement

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F8038E5C17DC.html

08/04/2012

Moscow

Activists in metro station 'Revolution Square' with white flowers, white ribbons on their clothes and white bows. Many of the sculptures installed at the metro station are decorated with white carnations and roses.
"White Square" action on Red Square, dance, sing

?

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F8163BB00A63.html
http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F816C225EBEF.html

09/04/2012

Astrakhan

Rally in support of hunger strikers

Udaltsov

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F82B547ECE1A.html

10/04/2012

Astrakhan

March in support of hunger strikers

?

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F83D79204095.html

10/04/2012

Moscow

Hunger strike in support of astrakhan
Picket in support of 'White Square' activists

? Udaltsov

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F83E1BC62916.html
http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F83F549D192C.html

11/04/2012

Moscow

"White Duma" rally

? Udaltsov

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F85263FC478C.html

12/04/2012

Arkhangelsk

Single Picket in support of Astrakhan

Young Socialists of Russia

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F86BFBD89AB1.html

14/04/2012

Astrakhan

Rally
Mironov announces "all Russian protest action" in support

? Solidarity, Just Russia

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F8974AF7B1CA.html

14/04/2012

Moscow

Rally at Ostankino (demanding independent TV)
Rally + meeting w/ municipal deputies, Udaltsov in support of Astrakhan

Yabloko (Ostankino)
?Udaltsov

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F8963F246D83.html

15/04/2012

Moscow

Picket on Red Square in support of Astrakhan
Flash mob at Tretyakov Gallery in support of Astrakhan

?

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F8AAA9C9BC47.html
http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F8ABDE741C79.html

16/04/2012

Astrakhan

Rally

?

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F8C10EFCFD39.html

17/03/2012

Tver

Picket in support of Astrakhan

Just Russia

"We need fair elections in Astrakhan"

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F8C10EFCFD39.html

18/04/2012

Volgograd

Rally in support of Astrakhan

Just Russia, Yabloko

"Volgograd for Oleg Shein"
"For fair elections in Astrakhan and all Russia"
"Shein will live"
"No to judicial lawlessness"
"Navalny for mayor of Volgograd"

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F8EB0F35F8C1.html

20/04/2012

Samara

Anti-government posters attached to cars

?

"No to the inauguration"

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F9106F177140.html

21/04/2012

Voronezh

Rally in support of Astrakhan

Just Russia, For Fair Elections committee

"Oleg Shein and Astrakhan, we are with you!"
"The political hunger strike is not a struggle for power, but for fair elections"
"the Government stole our homeland first, and now our voices."

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F9289C341511.html

22/04/2012

Penza

Rally

Left Front, RosAgit-58, City Without Traffic Jams

"Penza against Putin"
"Political prisoners are the shame of Russia!"
"Has exchanged his Homeland for the throne? Stay in jail!", "Free education should be free"
" exam does not roll! Fursenko enough!"
"Scholarship - to the level of salaries of officials!"

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F9413BD2DC08.html

23/04/2012

Astrakhan

30 more join Shein hunger strike

?

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4F94EE14ED63E.html

01/05/2012

St. Petersburg

"Democratic March"
Rally

?Yabloko, Oborona, Left Front, For Fair elections movement, PARNAS, Russian Democratic Union

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4FA007E54901C.html

05/05/2012

Voronezh

Rally against Putin
Participants of meeting started in air the caricature portrait of Putin tied to three balloons filled with helium.

? Solidarity, PARNAS, Yabloko, CPRF

"Leave"
"Fly Away"

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4FA54741F3BAC.html

06/05/2012

Moscow

March of Millions - participants from 50 regions
Camp set up on Chisty Prudy

Kasparov, Navalny, Nemtsov, Udaltsov, Chirikova,
Elena Lukyanova (Lawyer)

"For honest, legitimate power"
"For a Russia without Putin"

http://namarsh.ru/material.php?id=4FA4C20967421

07/05/2012

Moscow

"White city" action against Putin inauguration
Camp set up on Stary Ploshchad

?

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4FA76E1AB1AB4.html

07/05/2012

St. Petersburg

Rally in support of those detained in Moscow march of millions

?

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4FA7E43103439.html

08/05/2012

Moscow

Rallies and marches throughout the city
Activists arrive at Patriarch Ponds, intending to camp

?

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4FA9490DD1B7D.html

09/05/2012

Moscow

Indefinite protest'
Mobile camp set up on Kropotkinskaya

?

?

< http://namarsh.ru/materials/4FAA15CFEB7C5.html

09/05/2012

St. Petersburg

Rally in support of Moscow activists

?

?

< http://namarsh.ru/materials/4FAA15CFEB7C5.html

10/05/2012

Moscow

Citizens' gathering' at Abay Statue where camp is

?

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4FAB77C863E77.html

11/05/2012

Samara

March of Millions in solidarity w/ Moscow

Civil activist Alexander Lashmankin

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4FACA69A75CEE.html

12/05/2012

Ulyanovsk

Indefinite 'People's festivities', similar to Moscow camp

Other Russia

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4FAE785395D11.html

12/05/2012

St. Petersburg

Indefinite 'People's festivities', similar to Moscow camp

?

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4FAE785395D11.html

12/05/2012

Krasnodar

Indefinite 'People's festivities', similar to Moscow camp

?

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4FAE785395D11.html

12/05/2012

Samara

Indefinite 'People's festivities', similar to Moscow camp

?

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4FAE785395D11.html

12/05/2012

Penza

Indefinite 'People's festivities', similar to Moscow camp

?

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4FAE785395D11.html

12/05/2012

Perm

Indefinite 'People's festivities', similar to Moscow camp

?

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4FAE785395D11.html

13/05/2012

Moscow

Walk of Writers
Rally at Abay monument
Activists hand out white ribbons and brochures
Occupy Abay and Test Walk trend on RU Twitter

Boris Akunin

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4FAF718877437.html

13/05/2012

Yekaterinburg

Indefinite 'People's festivities', similar to Moscow camp
Red, white ribbons

?

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4FAFA25BF196F.html

13/05/2012

Kirov

People's protest festivities' (12th - 13th)

?

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4FB10A4BF2F41.html

13/05/2012

Krasnoyarsk

People's festivities' in support of Moscow (12th-13th)

?

"Russia without Putin"

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4FB0C862E3CF4.html

14/05/2012

Samara

Protest walk' and 'Festivity' in support of Moscow

?

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4FB09B2F9196E.html

15/05/2012

Moscow

Occupy Abay dispersed (been there since 6th may)

17/05/2012

Cheboksary

Picket against use of Chuvash OMON to disperse Moscow protests

? Other Russia, Solidarity

?

http://namarsh.ru/materials/4FB4B90E5722D.html

280



1. INTRODUCTION

This chapter analyses the protests of the 2011/12 election cycle. The period begins on the 4^th of December 2011 - the day of the State Duma elections - and ends on the 17^th of May 2012 - approximately one week after Putin's inauguration. In contrast to Case Study 1, extensive scholarship on this period exists. The multi-authored volume Systemic and Non-Systemic Opposition in the Russian Federation: Civil Society Awakens (2015) edited by Cameron Ross is the most significant book on the topic, while articles by Gel'man (2013), Gel'man, `Cracks in the Wall', 3-10 Chaisty & Whitefield (2013), Paul Chaisty & Stephen Whitefield, `Forward to democracy or back to authoritarianism? The attitudinal bases of mass support for the Russian election protests of 2011-2012', Post-Soviet Affairs, 29.5 (2013), 387-403. Gill (2016), Graeme Gill, `Russia and the Vulnerability of Electoral Authoritarianism', Slavic Review, 75.2 (2016), 354-373. and Lasnier (2017) analyse specific aspects of the protests such as the role of social media in mobilisation, and their impact on Russia's hybrid political system. Virginie Lasnier, `Demobilisation and its Consequences: After the Russian movement Za Chestnye Vybory', Europe-Asia Studies, 69.5 (2017) 771-793. The spark for these protests is well known: The State Duma elections, in which United Russia won 238 seats, were widely regarded as fraudulent. Anon., `Russia election: Hundreds rally against Putin in Moscow', BBC News, 5<sup>th</sup> December 2011 < https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-16042797 > [accessed 20 December 2018] The demand `For Fair Elections' also applied to the Presidential elections, which took place on the 4^th of March 2012. The 2011/12 protest cycle exhibits a unique degree of repertoire development, inter-regional and internationalising discourse compared to Case Studies 1 and 3.

2. DISCUSSION OF RESULTS

2.1. Locations

Namarsh.ru records 280 instances of protest during the 2011/2012 election cycle. Again, Moscow and St. Petersburg exhibit the highest frequency, hosting 44 and 16 respectively. Nizhny Novgorod and Astrakhan exhibit the next highest, both hosting 8. Case Study 2 is unique because namarsh.ru records 40 of these as having taken place outside of Russia. A methodological consideration is, therefore, that this figure somewhat distorts the percentages (For example, the chart records 65% of organisers unknown, but a majority of these took place abroad). Moreover, the interactive map created by namarsh.ru documenting these protests includes links to pages - which may have included organiser details and visual data - that are now inaccessible. Nonetheless, including these protests remains useful for analysing diffusion discourses.

2.2. Repertoire

43% of protests took `conventional' forms. It should be noted, however, that, often, little detail beyond these terms is given, so it is possible that `innovation at the margins' occurred but went unrecorded. In addition, the developments below frequently coincide with `conventional' forms. However, only articles in which the `rally', `picket', or `march' is the only description are coded as `conventional'. Case Study 2 exhibits four distinct repertoire developments, with two first recorded in Moscow (NB: developments can overlap):

1) White as symbolic colour: Moscow (10/12/11) Stockholm (10/12/11) Riga (10/12/11) Kazan (18/12/11) Moscow (19/02/12) Nizhny Novgorod (19/02/12) Cheboksary (19/02/12) Tomsk (19/02/12) Krasnoyarsk (19/02/12) Krasnoyarsk (25/02/12) Moscow (05/03/12) Novosibirsk (05/03/12) Krasnodar (05/03/12) Moscow (08/03/12) Tomsk (10/03/12) Moscow (18/03/12) Moscow (24/03/12) Moscow (01/04/12) Moscow (08/04/12) Moscow (10/04/12) Moscow (11/04/12) Moscow (07/05/12) Moscow (13/05/12) Yekaterinburg (13/05/12)

2) Indefinite protest: Moscow (09/05/12) Ulyanovsk (12/05/12) St. Petersburg (12/05/12) Krasnodar (12/05/12) Samara (12/05/12) Penza (12/05/12) Perm (12/05/12) Yekaterinburg (13/05/12) Kirov (13/05/12) Krasnoyarsk (13/05/12) Samara (14/05/12)

3) Flash mob: Nizhny Novgorod (12/02/12) Krasnoyarsk (25/02/12) Moscow (05/03/12) Krasnodar (05/03/12) Murmansk (05/03/12) Moscow (01/04/12) Moscow (15/04/12)

4) Hunger Strike: Novokujbyshevsk (05/12/11) Astrakhan (15/03/12) Moscow (10/04/12)

2.3. Organisers

Of the protests for which organisers are recorded, the majority are organised by multiple political and civil forces. Overall, such coalitions account for 14%, significantly higher than the percentages exhibited by single organisations such as political party Yabloko or the opposition coalition Other Russia. A methodological consideration here is that, in protests coded as having multiple organisers, it is possible that the politicians and activists mentioned by namarsh.ru did not initiate the actions. As Volkov (2015) writes, some rallies were organised by independent actors via Facebook and other social media. Denis Volkov, `Defining Common Ground: Collective Identity in Russia's Post-Election Protests and Rallies', in Systemic and Non-Systemic Opposition in the Russian Federation: Civil Society Awakens? ed. by Cameron Ross (Farnham: Ashgate Publishing Limited, 2015), pp. 35-51 (p. 40). However, even if those mentioned by namarsh.ru were not necessarily the initiators, the variety of names and political forces mentioned remain useful in demonstrating the ideological heterogeneity of the protests.

2.4. Slogans

Compared to Case Study 1, Case Study 2 exhibits greater consistency in slogans. Examples include the following:

1) `Russia without Putin': 9* (First recorded in: Samara)

2) `For Fair Elections' 6 (First recorded in: Nizhny Novgorod)

3) `Twelve years - thank you, no' 4 (First recorded in: Moscow)

4) `Putin is a thief': 4 (First recorded in: Moscow)

5) `United Russia in the trash': 3 (First recorded in: Kurgan)

6) `Crooks and thieves': 3 (First recorded in: Yaroslavl)

(* it is highly likely that these slogans occurred more often than the numbers suggest, the numbers simply refer to the frequency with which they are mentioned on namarsh.ru)

3. ANALYSIS

3.1. The White Ribbon Campaign

3.1.1. Applying the Diffusion Model

Firstly, the Colour Revolutions create a CULTURAL SHIFT space thus establishing new expectations of how Post-Soviet countries respond to disputed elections. Russia experienced a dramatic increase in internet usage in the decade leading up the 2011/12 protests: Regular internet usage among the population, rising from between 0-2% in 2001 to 45-50% in 2011. White & McAllister, p. 76.

Regina Smyth & Sarah Oates, `Mind the Gaps: Media Use and Mass Action in Russia', Europe-Asia Studies, 67.2 (2015), 285-305, p. 290. This increase sparked an ORGANISATIONAL SHIFT in which social media emerged as a new platform for protest organisation. These shifts then facilitated the EMERGENCE of several online groups urging people to wear white ribbons to show support for the protests on the 9<sup>th</sup> December 2011. Maria Vasilieva, `Russia protest: White ribbon emerges as rallying symbol', BBC News, 9^th December 2011 < https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-16097709 > [accessed 07 March 2019] The emergence on social media led to online and offline DIFFUSION. Social media poses an interesting example of the interaction between Relational and Non-Relational Diffusion: Users do not need to personally know the individual(s) who began the campaign as they can also see the page if users on their own friends list `like' the page. Mediated Diffusion also occurs: On the 24<sup>th</sup> March 2012, Boris Nemtsov, Sergei Udaltsov - and other Opposition figures - held a rally-cum-press conference in central Moscow to announce a `White Week' from the 15^th - 22^nd April. In the press conference, Nemtsov et. al act as `dissident entrepreneurs' for the campaign, opening up new channels of Non-Relational Diffusion by communicating with the media. Francisco, p. 17. Diffusion occurred over a protracted period, resulting in multiple ADOPTIONS of the white ribbon.

3.1.2. Problematising repertoire geographies

11/24 of recorded `White' events occurred in the capital, and only 1 or 2 in other locations. The Facebook page `Open Movement: White ribbon of protest' appeared on the 9^th October, < https://www.facebook.com/pg/BelayaLenta/about/?ref=page_internal > [accessed 07 march 2019] and the Facebook group `Supporters of the white ribbon' on the 20<sup>th</sup> October. < https://www.facebook.com/groups/Belalenta/ > [accessed 07 March 2019] Neither of these mentions a location. Regional groups such as `White ribbon: Komsomolsk on Amur' also appeared, although with few members. < https://www.facebook.com/groups/kna.wr/about/ > [accessed 07 March 2019] Although namarsh.ru records the first appearance of white as a protest symbol on the 10^th December in Moscow, these social media pages demonstrate that the idea arose long before this time, and problematises the attribution of a particular location to repertoire development.

4. International context

As in Case Study 1, regime discourse sought to discredit protestors with accusations of foreign influence. Most notably, Putin accused Hillary Clinton of orchestrating the unrest: `She set the tone for some opposition activists, gave them a signal, they heard this signal and started active work.' Steve Gutterman & Lev Bryansky, `Putin says U.S. stoked Russian protests', Reuters, 8^th December 2011 < https://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia/putin-says-u-s-stoked-russian-protests-idUSTRE7B610S20111208 > [accessed 03 February 2019] Medvedev echoed the message, stating: `We will not let instigators and extremists involve society in their reckless activities, and we will not allow foreign interference in our internal affairs.' Dmitry Medvedev, `Address to the Federal Assembly', 22^nd December 2011, kremlin.ru < http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/14088 > [accessed 03 February 2019] NTV, owned by state company Gazprom, aired the documentary Anatomy of Protest claiming that protests were funded by the U.S. Government in order to undermine Putin. Thomas Grove, `Russian “smear” documentary' provokes protests', Reuters, 16^th March 2012 < https://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-documentary-protest-idUSBRE82F14R20120316 > [accessed 07 March 2019]

Political elites painted the Diffusion of `foreign' ideas (i.e. social unrest) in a negative light. Protestors, thus, exhibited an ambivalent relationship to foreign examples of protest. On the one hand, they sought to distance themselves from any such association: In Cheboksary (19/02/12), protestors chanted `We are not orange, but white and fluffy', while in Kazan, they distributed fake US bank notes entitled `One Hillary', satirising Putin's comments. On the other, protestors also drew explicitly on foreign protests - particularly the Colour Revolutions, Occupy Wall Street, and the Arab Spring - in order to articulate and strengthen their claims. The following three sections will analyse this in greater detail.

The author's interview with Oleg Stepanov offered particularly interesting perspectives on the international context of Russian protests. When asked `Do you think that international protests influence Russian protest repertoire?', he replied abruptly:

`No, they do not influence […] If we are talking about the influence of international protests on the wide majority of the population, it is very small […] If we are talking about political activists, then protests in Sweden, in America are, of course, interesting. But interesting in the way that it is always interesting to see how colleagues in the same sphere act.' Interview conducted by author.

The statement at once disavows, and implicitly creates, a relationship between international and Russian political activists. While Stepanov insists that the former `do not influence' the latter, the reference to Western political activists as `colleagues' acting in the `same sphere' implies an imagined association. The abruptness of the answer also suggests the potential sensitivity of the question, perhaps arising from accusations of U.S. influence levelled at protestors by the regime. Stepanov further stated that activists, `cannot change the [Russian] regime from abroad because […] look what happened in Iraq.' The reference to the U.S. invasion of Iraq is striking because it echoes the regime's equation of foreign influence with chaos. This, perhaps, unconscious mimicking suggests the pervasiveness of regime discourse.

4.1. From Orange - to Snow

Comparison of the 2011/12 protests and the Colour Revolutions exist in academic, journalistic, and political discourse. White & McAllister (2015) highlight how both were sparked by rigged elections and characterised by non-violence. White & McAllister, p. 72. Vasilieva (2011) wrote for the BBC: `The ribbon appears to mimic the symbols of revolution adopted by former Soviet republics: orange in Ukraine, the rose in Georgia and the tulip in Kyrgyzstan.' Vasilieva CPRF leader Zyuganov denounced the protests as an `orange threat'. Lasnier, p. 786. The regime-organised `Anti-Orange' rally on Poklonnaya Hill in December 2011 underscores the comparison.

Protestors sought to distance themselves from this comparison; yet, the data also suggests that they employed similar repertoire. Wilson (2009) defines the atmosphere and aesthetic of Ukraine's Orange Revolution as `carnival[esque]', Andrew Wilson, `Ukraine's `Orange Revolution' of 2004: The Paradoxes of Negotiation', in Civil Resistance & Power Politics: The Experience of Non-Violent Action from Ghandi to the Present (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009), pp. 335-353 (p. 342). and also highlights youth organisation Pora's use of Situationist tactics.' Andrew Wilson, Ukraine's Orange Revolution (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2005), p. 75. The tactics of Russia's 2011/12 protests are undoubtedly similar. The `White Streets' initiative of February 2012, for example, in which cars decorated with white sculptures, ribbons, and balloons strongly evokes the `Orange' atmosphere. Situationist International (1957-72) expounded the importance of disrupting/subverting the dominant political culture both physically and visually. Simon Sadler, The Situationist City (Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 1999), p. 19. The repeated use of flash mobs recall the Situationist emphasis on spectacle to disrupt urban space, while the `Opposition walks' - such as that in Tomsk (10/03/12) and Moscow (13/05/12) recall the Situationist dйrive in which `drifting' through the city symbolised a rejection of the political system defining it. Sadler, p. 81.

Overall, then, while protestors downplayed the Colour Revolution comparison, protest forms imply the diffusion of `Coloured' techniques to Russia - and these were not confined to the major cities. Regardless of whether this signals the deliberate adoption of such tactics, the deployment of a symbolic colour, and use of carnivalesque forms, implicates the protests within the Colour Revolution narrative. Stepanov was evasive regarding any comparison with Ukraine. When asked about Western media comparisons of the 2011/12 revolutions with the Colour Revolutions, he stated that it was `very difficult to compare', before turning the discussion to his disappointment with the results of EuroMaidan. Interview conducted by author. This ambivalent attitude towards Ukraine's revolutions is interesting given the similarity in tactics and, again, implies the desire to refute regime accusations of foreign influence.

4.2. Russian Spring?

This study began with a Pussy Riot lyric inciting Russians to `do a Tahrir on Red Square'. The band performed the song in November 2011, slightly before the onset of the protest cycle. Nonetheless, the Arab Spring remained symbolic during the cycle in both regime and protestor discourses. President Medvedev drew an ambiguous comparison between the two, offering both ambivalent praise and hints at the negative consequences of diffusion:

`The Arab spring will end with a cold Arab fall. Spring has come to Russia, and I would like to congratulate everyone on this: it is spring in both the literal and figurative senses.' Anon., `Interview to Russian TV Networks', kremlin.ru, 26^th April 2012 < http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/15149 > [accessed 03 February 2019]

Recorded references to the Arab Spring by protestors are scarce. Excluding Pussy Riot's song, the data includes only one other: In an Arkhangelsk rally (25/12/11), namarsh.ru recorded one slogan: `Putin, don't wait for the fate of Gadhafi.' According to The Guardian, Occupy Abay offered participants a lecture on `the lessons of Egypt's Tahrir Square'. Miriam Elder, `Russian protests: thousands march in support of Occupy Abay camp', The Guardian, 13<sup>th</sup> May 2012 < https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/may/13/russian-protests-march-occupy-abay > [accessed 08 March 2019] As with the use of `Coloured' tactics, both instances consciously situate Russian protests within a trans-national narrative. Indeed, the lecture represents a means of diffusing this narrative. That one of these examples is from Moscow and the other from a regional capital problematises the initial hypothesis that the capital would make greater reference to international protests.

4.3. 10^th November 2011: `We are with Russia'

The 2011/12 protests were unique in the occurrence of numerous foreign protests in solidarity, and in namarsh.ru's map of these actions. In both Riga and Montreal, protestors outside of the Russian Embassy / Consulate handed flowers to passers-by, replicating a similar action in Moscow. In Riga the flowers were white, drawing on the colour symbolism established within Russia. The interactive map features domestic, as well as international, protests. Its conception of space serves two purposes. Firstly, it emphasises the protests' geographical spread; Secondly, it explicitly situates Russia within an international context. While the regime discourse posited Russia as subject to the Diffusion of `foreign' unrest, namarsh.ru's map embraces cross-border connections, depicting Russia as the diffusing, actor.