The Kremlin has recently become more sensitive to any hint of dissent in the country, including calls for the decentralization of power or any separatist sentiment in Russia's regions. For example, a local artist in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk, Artyom Loskutov, planned a performance art protest called "March for Federalization of Siberia" for Aug. 17. The call for a federalized Siberia is not new; it was a popular cause in the 1990s, as were calls for keeping tax revenue in Siberia instead of sending it to Moscow. In response to the planned protest, the Kremlin's media watchdog forbade 14 Russian media outlets from publicizing the march or publishing Loskutov's statements. In addition, it shut down the official website for the march and social media sites such as VKontakte. The mayor's office in Novosibirsk has declared the protest, which is now called "March of the Inviolability of the Constitutional System," unsanctioned.
But the Kremlin's actions had unintended consequences. Before the crackdown, the protest did not have much support. Now, however, opposition and dissident groups in Moscow, along with the National Bolshevik Party, have voiced support for the march. Moreover, websites have been set up outside of Russia to raise funds for the protest, while demonstrators are printing leaflets and stickers to disseminate in Siberia.
Aside from the demonstration, the Kremlin is focusing on how to prevent protests across the country after the upcoming Sept. 14 regional elections. Leaks from the presidential administration to media outlet Moskovsky Komsomolets indicate a newly formed committee will hold sessions Aug. 28-30 to prevent local protests from becoming Maidans — a reference to the protests in Kiev's Maidan Square, which led to the ouster of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich. The committee is made up of public organizations such as veterans' groups, Orthodox Christian organizations and Cossack groups, which oppose anti-Kremlin protest movements.
