Рецензии/Reviews the local population and the central Tom JUNES government. The argument of the book could Mischa Gabowitsch, Protest in have been made even stronger by Putin’s Russia (Cambridge: Polity accepting a more active compara- Press, 2017). 332 pp. Bibliography. tive stance and engaging the exist- Index. ISBN-13: 978-0-7456-9625-6. ing literature on the postwar rees- tablishment of Soviet rule in other When in late March 2017 west- Ukrainian or Belarusian cities, such ern media churned out sensational as Lviv or Minsk. This would have headlines about mass protests in clarified what was specific in the case Russia, the stories were focused on of Kyiv, and what was a reflection of the anticorruption rallies that broke general policies in the formerly oc- out spontaneously after Aleksey cupied territories. Another shortcom- Navalny had posted an online video ing of the book is its frail theoretical documenting prime minister Dmitry framework. Although names such as Medvedev’s accumulated wealth. Stephen Kotkin, Sheila Fitzpatrick, The rallies were hailed in the media and Jeffrey Brooks are mentioned in as the largest antigovernment pro- the introduction, the author ignores tests in five years. Simultaneously, more recent and much more relevant the nationwide truckers’ protest literatures concerning the reclaim- movement that was gaining mo- ing of formerly occupied cities in mentum that same week received Ukraine and Belarus, the silencing only scant if any attention. At a of Holocaust survivors in these areas time when Putin’s Russia is being and toleration of anti-Semitism by portrayed as the West’s arch-nemesis the central and local party authori- on a near-daily basis in the media, ties, and the perpetual social unrest in any protest in Russia that could be the region during the postwar years. presented as “antigovernment” or These critical comments do not “anti-Putin” was bound to get its undermine the quality of the study by fair share of coverage. In this sense, Martin J. Blackwell and the overall Mischa Gabowitsch’s well-balanced merits of his book. Well-written, and thoroughly researched book is accessible to scholars and general more than just a welcome addition readers alike, with a balanced, logical to the literature, it effectively serves structure, advancing compelling ar- as a much-needed corrective of a guments substantiated by the wealth media-influenced narrative relating of archival sources, the book is a wel- to protest in Russia. come addition to the historiography Protest in Putin’s Russia, an of the postwar Soviet Union. updated and essentially rewritten 346 Ab Imperio, 4/2017 English-language version of an nomenon, nor limited to the capital. earlier (2013) German-language Drawing upon a rich pool of source publication, analyzes the 2011–2013 material that includes the results protest cycle in its variegated as- of the author’s fieldwork beyond pects. While the book takes the Moscow (among others in Chely- May 2012 “March of Millions” as a abinsk), the book presents a picture “microcosm” – each chapter starts of protests that were ultimately with a lengthy personal anecdote of neither about a single issue (fair individuals involved in or observing elections) nor a political movement it – for the wave of protests starting per se (against Putin), but drew in with the outbreak of the demonstra- participants of all ages and classes tions for fair elections in December spread out over the whole country, 2011 and ending with the “March thus addressing a variety of issues. against Scoundrels” in January 2013, Nevertheless, as Gabowitsch himself it offers the reader in fact a broader stresses, the concept of a middle- reflection on the dynamics of protest class revolt in the capital had gained in Russia going well beyond this enough traction even for the regime period. While Gabowitsch places the itself to adopt it, in turn enabling to Russian protests within the context an extent the populist turn during of the “global wave of protest,” he Putin’s third term as president. points out that they were arguably The book complicates the nar- eclipsed by the Arab Spring, the Oc- rative about the anti-Putin protests cupy movement, the anti-austerity of 2011–2013 by qualifying the protests in Europe, Turkey’s Gezi presumption that they constituted a Park protests, and Ukraine’s Eu- political opposition movement. In romaidan. In part, this resulted in reality, while opposition parties, the the Russian protests receiving less extra-parliamentary opposition, and attention in the world media and, ad- civic activists all took part, the mass ditionally, becoming portrayed as a of protesters had not identified with a Moscow-centered event or series of single clear cause. Gabowitsch rather events carried out by the “creative” applies concepts of “scenes,” “mi- middle class. lieu,” “common-places,” and “cogni- Herein lies one problematic tive spaces” to demonstrate how dif- element related to the protest wave ferent actors interacted, sometimes in that the book successfully tackles. unison and sometimes in discord dur- Gabowitsch convincingly demon- ing the protests while their room for strates that this is a highly distorted maneuver was structured and limited depiction as the protests were neither by the regime. He tries to steer the exclusively the middle class phe- middle ground between what he calls 347 Рецензии/Reviews a political science “top-down” and a many people became active as elec- sociological “bottom-up” approach tion monitors and were confronted to the protests. As he aptly demon- with fraud on the day of the Duma strates, this reflected the positions elections in December 2011. The and debates among the protesters emotional shock of witnessing this themselves where for some the goal firsthand – although it had been a of the protests was to force political known practice – caused the protests change whereas for others it was to to erupt. It was the shocked election alleviate specific grievances. In this observers who spearheaded them. sense, he also debunks the myth that The fourth chapter provides more 2011–2013 was an “awakening” of historical context and an explanation Russian “civil society” and that the of the phenomenon of protest in Rus- protests symbolized the first mass sia under Putin. It traces how politi- “political” protests of the Putin era as cal opposition groups were gradually opposed to earlier “social” protests. pushed toward becoming an extra- Following an introductory chap- parliamentary opposition forced to ter treating methodological and engage in street actions and forging conceptual questions, seven the- alliances that made little ideological matic chapters venture into different sense. The various “social” grass- spheres related to the 2011–2013 roots protests also began converging protest cycle. The second chapter though, as a rule, they did not trans- scrutinizes various characteristics form into larger or more sustained of Russian society and the Putin movements. The fifth chapter picks regime through which framework up where the previous one ended the protests are to be understood. and ventures into the dynamics that It stresses the role that emotions drove the protests in 2011–2013. It play, the significance of informal describes how the various political relations in Russian society, the and extra-parliamentary groups, perseverance of a “culture of cyni- civic activists, and social grassroots cism,” and how the centralization of protesters cooperated and came into the system and the president’s style conflict with each other. In the sixth of governance through “manual chapter, the overall depiction of control” put Putin at the center of the protests is further complicated political communication, which fa- through a discussion of the “counter- cilitates attributing blame. The third cultural” perspective. It discusses the chapter concentrates on the “election case of Pussy Riot, the use of art in observer movement.” After present- protest, the role of religion and how ing a historical outline of election the Orthodox Church aligned itself monitoring in Russia, it shows how with the regime, and the influence of 348 Ab Imperio, 4/2017 the feminist and LGBT movement made throughout the book. It would on the protests. have been interesting perhaps to see In the seventh chapter, a crucial more historical comparison to earlier notion – that of space – is analyzed. protests. Nevertheless, Gabowitsch’s Space framed the protests and how work is a must-read for those who they were perceived. It provided the wish to better decipher present-day setting, the cognitive framework, Russia, and especially to comprehend where protesters interacted with each how resistance, contestation, or oppo- other and were enabled to “explore,” sition to the regime could materialize. since the bulk of them did not have The book masterfully explains the clear opinions about the political complexity and idiosyncrasies related situation or their own aims. More- to protest in the country. However, it over, the regime had the power – and does not much explore the other side used it – to shape the spatial context of the story, that is, the state’s strate- of urban protest. The eighth chapter gies and capacity to counter it. While moves the analysis beyond Russia the author admits leaving out topics and explores the “transnational” as- such as “non-violence in protest” pect related to the protests. It focuses and “state repression” (which feature on the activity of the diaspora and as chapters in the previous German the Magnitsky affair. Finally, in a edition) and certainly acknowledges concluding chapter some reflection their importance, a more in-depth dis- is provided on how protests evolved cussion of the problem of “counter- after 2013. It briefly deals with how protest” or “counter-mobilization” the regime reacted and adapted in the by pro-regime organizations such as wake of the protest. Ultimately, the Nashi could have been instructive conclusion also offers some thoughts and further strengthened the analysis. that are applicable to protests else- The book’s critique of the wide- where such as the importance of the spread habit of looking at Russia “exploration” among protesters and through western eyes using western activists and “newfound communi- concepts is one of its strengths. ty,” which could be more significant However, it also somewhat isolates than the question of whether protest the Russian context from the outside leads or fails to lead to a democrati- world. Thus, some aspects of how zation of the system. As the events protest evolved and developed (e.g., in March mentioned above illustrate, relating to the environment or ur- the story is certainly not over. ban construction) in Russia display The 2011–2013 protest cycle similarities with developments in was the largest since the perestroika other parts of the globe. Moreover, period and references to the latter are the “transnational dimension” tends 349 Рецензии/Reviews to focus on what could be more or Soviet space these are questions less perceived as “Russian actors worth pursuing – in particular, since and protagonists abroad,” but it does over the years the Putin regime has not really venture into the question implemented a strategy and adopted of possible transnational diffusion measures to prevent a “color revolu- or linkages with protests elsewhere. tion” as a result of protests in other Similarly, when discussing the former Soviet republics. In general, discrepancies between “political” questions that might be of interest and “social” protest throughout the to readers looking for a comparative country in the years before the out- perspective (though Serbia’s Otpor break of the fair-elections protest in is mentioned quite a few times) are 2011, the usual scenario amounted to not put forward. This should not be local protests around specific causes taken as a fundamental criticism or that did not evolve into long-term evidence of any deficiency of the protest movements with more gen- book. It was after all not the author’s eral political demands. However, in primary goal. Rather, the book two cases in border regions on the triggered this reviewer’s curiosity periphery, Vladivostok and Kalinin- towards these questions. grad, this did happen (arguably these Protest in Putin’s Russia is a regions would have had more con- well-argued monograph based on tact with the outside world). Gabow- in-depth research that elucidates itsch notes these cases as exceptions the complex and multifaceted char- to the rule as they also caught both acteristics of protest in Russia. The the presidential administration and protests of 2011–2013 may have United Russia by surprise, but he failed, but they constituted a trans- does not offer an explanation as to formative experience for those who why this was possible there as op- took part in them. It is plausible to posed to elsewhere in the country. expect more protests in Russia in Although the Russian protests the future and surely the lessons were placed within the “global and memories of 2011–2013 will wave of protest,” the book hardly have an influence on their form and explores this framework. In this trajectory. For this reason, the book vein, there are some questions that is highly recommended not only for immediately present themselves. specialists on Russia and researchers Were Russian protesters inspired of protest, but also for a wider read- by protests elsewhere? Conversely, ership – that is, anyone interested in did the Russian protests provide Putin’s Russia as a political regime lessons for protesters in other parts and Russia as a society that is part of the globe? Certainly for the post- of our common globalizing world. 350