Russian non-system opposition

(Includes some politicians, artists, journalists, scientists).

Actionists

 * Petr Pavlenskii
 * Stich Red Square Wired Psychiatric hospital roof "Svoboda" action-recreating Maidan in St Petersburg.
 * 9.11.2015. Sets FSB entrance on fire in a staged photo-op, arrested, administrative charges filed ( hooliganism)- report. Criminal charges (vandalism) -report. Reaction to this latest action is strongly divided, along the opposition/pro government line.


 * Pussy Riot, Tolokonnikova, Alekhina
 * 'Chaika' clip, -visuals and critical review by Roman Popkov, Feb. 7, 2016


 * Voina ('War') art group
 * Action "Dick in FSB Captivity", Liteinyi bridge, St Petersburg

Politicians
21.11.15 Non system opposition do not have factions in current Duma, dominated by the ruling "United Russia" block. Next elections are in Fall, 2016, with opposition struggling to be above the required 5% threshold. Attempts to join forces are underway for quite some time, with unclear outcome. "Democratic choice" is, or was, one of attempted unification blocks,  including RPR Parnas (Kasianov, late Nemtsov), and Party of Progress (Navalnyi). It is said that Open Russia of Khodorkovskii may be involved as well. But at least one other major opposition group, Yabloko, seems to go separate ways. Some latest developments are reflected on RPR Parnas site

10.4.2016 Aleksey Navalnyi: "Navalnyi is CIA agent code name 'Freedom', and he killed Magnitskii" (and so Russsian Channel 1 says).

Khodorkovskii

 * Russia reopens a criminal case, declares Khodorkovsky arrested in absentia, places him on international wanted list, for his alleged role in murder of two people; news and background info TASS (Rus), Dec. 23, 2015.
 * Official announcement by the Russian Investigative Committee (Rus).

Vladimir Petukhov, the first popularly-elected mayor of oil-rich Nefteyugansk, was shot dead on his way to work on June 26, 1998, which happened to be Khodorkovskii birthday. Petukhov as a mayor insisted that Yukos pay more taxes, while Yukos would prefer this to be less, setting grounds for a conflict. With laws of the land being inadequate for capitalism arrival, rules of business and political games were set by complicated relations among top players. In case at hand, it is said that Petukhov started a hunger strike demanding a criminal prosecution of Yukos. Regional governor agreed to investigate the matter. Petukhov was shot and killed shortly after (Petukhov bodyguard was shot as well but survived). Khodorkovskii is also accused in an attempt on the life of a businessman Evgenii Rybin, who had a business and financial dispute with Yukos (demanding from Yukos a payment in the amounts of 50-100 mln $); it is also said that he had unpaid debts to another party. Here is a quote from RT, showing a version close to the official Russian investigation(s) : "The investigation (previous one) found the killing to have been a well-prepared assassination, coordinated by former Yukos oil company Vice-President Leonid Nevzlin and organized by former Yukos security head Aleksey Pichugin. While a Russian court sentenced Pichugin to a life term in prison for three murders and four attempted murders, Nevzlin was sentenced to life in absentia, as he escaped to Israel to avoid the charges. Unlike his subordinates, Yukos CEO Khodorkovsky was not charged with murder, but spent 10 years behind bars for tax evasion, fraud and money laundering."

Radicalization
Recently (and after years of little dialogue or opportunity to affect the events) demands of a few political opposition figures became radicalized, calling for revolutionary change, undoing everything that was done by current authorities right on their arrival, etc. What they say is not always totally groundless. Yet it is not well thought out from start to end, does not have enough concern about fates and desires of real people and not just formal principles; and is too radical, for a country with enough revolutions in recent history already. Those opposition figures are foreign-based and foreign-supported; and do not really have compelling (for Russia, not their sponsors) ideas of how changes are supposed to come about or what and how is coming next. Thus it will likely lead to major problems and upheaval as was seen in post-Maidan Ukraine, or post-collapse of the USSR, if realized in practice. At present this does not have popular support and is essentially on the fringes, even among non-system opposition; but in overall difficult economic situation and at time of de-facto 'hybrid warfare', it is hard to be sure how all that may play out. Unfortunately there is no meaningful dialogue, with both sides too preoccupied with undoing the other, or preaching to the converted, and so at this time things do not seem to evolve in any hopeful direction .... --Resup (talk) 16:25, 7 February 2016 (UTC)

Russian bc?
An article by Alexey Zotiev published on Cassad introduces bc to those unconverted. In particular, makes this update: ..recently, "Ruslan Leviev, a programmer from Navalnyi anti-corruption foundation has joined this team. This  'expert', hailing from Surgut, and recently moved to Moscow, without leaving his apartment, is telling to the whole world some tall tales about, as he claims, soldiers of a Russian GRU unit number 16, killed in Ukraine. This military burial sites hunter is publishing his  sensationalized discoveries on bc and his livejournal page...(etc)... "  (well, Navalnyi said a number of things, good, bad, and indifferent,  "Forward, rams! (aka Forward, Idiots!) was one of his saying--hope this is not like that this time around...Anyway, some people are born to be in opposition, maybe if they are placed in the West, they will join us, and not bc's. And the same goes with the brown nosing of course--Resup (talk) 17:58, 22 August 2015 (UTC)
 * Leviev was in a group of those who launched a challenge in the Russian supreme court to the President order (28.5.15)  to make secret MoD losses "in peaceful times when special operations are conducted"; violators may be charged under article 283 of the criminal code (article) (commentary). Denies a serious involvement with Navalnyi foundation-says he just did some websites for them. Demands a salary from Belingcat after Cassad publication (twitter post). --Resup (talk) 05:08, 23 August 2015 (UTC)

Other
Anatolii Ermolin is a retired lieutenant colonel of an elite FSB (formerly KGB) spetznaz "Vympel", turned commentator/journalist. Here is his appeal warning on grave dangers of spreading hatred, addressed to the president of Russia, and written shortly after Nemtsov murder. Lately speaks against war-mongering propaganda.

ECHR
January 5, 2016 Frumkin vs Russia (On 6 May 2012 Frumkin was arrested during the dispersal of a political rally at Bolotnaya Square in Moscow ...  25, 000 award to Frumkin.
 * link    http://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng#{"languageisocode":["ENG"],"documentcollectionid2":["JUDGMENTS"],"itemid":["001-159762"]}
 * Russia recently said that it does not necessarily have to follow ECHR; it remains to be seen how this will play out. Changes to the supreme court law  Chairman of the constitutional committee of the Russian Federation Council explanation

Security and Legal Matters

 * 'Secret training of National Guard, Moscow region, 7 April 2016'. Video shows training of Russian National Guard, the newly formed structure based on MOI interior troops (170 thousand interior troops, 200 thousand security guards, 30 thousand OMON and SOBR,  Victor Zotov is the chief), according to captions. It was posted by 'Open Russia' (Khodorkovskii), and appeared in both 'opposition' and 'patriotic' media such as comments sections of Rusvesna and on Cassad blog. (Factually, all trucks have 'police' markings on them).
 * Another video cut, to a different music
 * A practical illustration: video of OMON making arrests, Gypsy protests and disturbances, village of Plekhanovo, around March 17, 2016 . (They built housing in the village without permits, allegedly illegally hooked up to a gas pipe, supply to the village itself was interrupted; when repair crews arrives some clashes occurred, OMON was called in, leading to arrests).
 * Interior troops indeed took part in two wars in Chechnya, as well as regular army. That was a different sort of thing, much more violent. National Guard now for something like this? Seems more appropriate for regular army and spetnaz, not for ex-MOI and security guards...


 * Yarovaia-Ozerov (1) (2) draft laws on 'additional measures for counter-terrorism and public safety' were introduced in Duma.
 * The law was criticized by presidential council for civil society and by the opposition. In particular, the law will penalize for 'assisting extremist activity', which may turn out to include  a broad range of activities.