Apathy of Russian society: can the youth change it?
The results of the elections to the Russian Duma, which took place on 18th September, showed that voters have an apathetic attitude towards the situation in the country, and do not cultivate any warm feelings for the ruling United Russia Party. President Vladimir Putin‘s party secured a win, yet voter activity reached a record low especially in the capital Moscow, where voter turnout was less than 35% (actually believed to be even lower). The elections unfortunately indicate something else – that the opposition has completely lost its connection with wider society. Not one credible critic of the Kremlin made it into the Duma. Neither representatives of the opposition nor civil society activists have hitherto managed to unite and mobilise the disillusioned against the kleptocracy. […]