The pro-democracy protests that spilled onto the streets of Moscow for the fourth straight weekend last Saturday (August 10) broke many stereotypes — both about today’s Russia and about mass movements in general. About 60,000 people — triple the size of the previous large rally in late July — gathered on Sakharov Avenue in the dead heat of August, the month when politics here traditionally takes a break. Demonstrators came despite the absence of prominent opposition leaders, nearly of all whom have been jailed after previous protests. The turnout was dampened neither by the brazen police brutality shown over the past few weeks, when thousands were arrested, nor by the Moscow authorities’ efforts to keep people away through official “storm warnings” and hastily organized music festivals.
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Protesters attend a rally and hold Russian flags in central Moscow on August 10, 2019 after mass police detentions.
