Hi, this is Gleb Kondratyev with the Sunday post about our political demands. Today, we’ll discuss not just points from “Vesna’s” manifesto, but the most fundamental political rights without which a person cannot be considered free: the rights to freedom of speech, assembly, and association.
Why did I decide to combine these into one topic? Because I believe these rights are the key to building a democratic state.
It is precisely for trying to exercise these rights that Putin’s regime has unleashed its repressive machine against us. “Vesna” activists are persecuted for anti-war statements and organizing anti-war rallies, while the courts label our movement “extremist” in an attempt to deprive us of organizational strength.
The current government fully controls elections and the tools for forming governing bodies. With things like Venediktov’s DEG (Remote Electronic Voting), it seems impossible for any opposition figure to break into the power structures and interfere with whatever Putin and his cronies wish to do. So why does the state still invest so much effort into suppressing dissent and dismantling independent organizations?
The answer is obvious: all these laws about “malicious” NGOs, “undesirable” and “extremist” organizations, and the long sentences for activists and politicians exist to prevent dissenters from organizing their forces. The regime is terrified of functional structures and institutions because it cannot create any itself. It is left with the most unreliable tools of control — fear and violence.
In such circumstances, any well-functioning political organization can easily tip the scales against the thieves and crooks in power. This leaves them with only one option: to destroy, shut down, and expel anything they cannot control.
Thus, no political freedom can exist without the ability to create an organized political movement. And to articulate their demands, citizens and organizations need the ability to speak openly, including in public spaces. These are the core political freedoms.
Our demands for ensuring these rights are straightforward:
☑️ Any laws restricting speech that does not involve incitement to violence must be repealed.
☑️ Under no circumstances should the authorities interrupt peaceful gatherings of citizens or punish participants for attending.
☑️ All laws hindering the free association of citizens, the creation and operation of parties, political, civic, or any other organizations, must be repealed.
