Russian celebrities and sympathetic journalists are outraged by the culling of livestock, the blocking of Telegram and internet disruptions. Propagandist Anastasia Kashevarova complains that citizens are not receiving any explanations from the Kremlin, the government or the State Duma. “The exact opposite is happening: blockades, shutdowns, the thoughtless destruction of businesses, the barbaric slaughter of livestock, social injustice, and legal nihilism. A wall of mistrust and misunderstanding is growing between the people and the authorities.” The newspaper Moskovsky Komsomolets published a column by political affairs columnist Dmitry Popov entitled “Russia is being rocked by banned leaflets: the battle against reality in this week’s news”. Popov also criticises the culling of livestock, the lack of “honest and open communication with the authorities”, and the blocking of mobile internet without explanation.
Since the start of spring, the authorities in Siberia have been sending livestock to slaughter on a massive scale. Farmers say that officials are not showing owners the test results, and that the animals seized often appear healthy. According to one theory, the reason for these measures may not be pasteurellosis, but a more serious disease – foot-and-mouth disease.
Dissatisfaction is also growing over the situation with Telegram. It is expected that the messaging app will be completely blocked in Russia in early April.
Is it possible to get through to the authorities? We discuss this with Maxim Glikin, editor-in-chief of the ‘We Can Explain’ project, and political analyst Denis Grekov.
00:00 Dissatisfaction is growing in Russia over blockades and the slaughter of livestock
01:13 Victoria Boni’s protest
05:35 Maxim Glikin on the protest by celebrities
07:35 Maxim Glikin on the gulf between the authorities and the people
10:33 Maxim Glikin on the fear of riots and revolutions
13:08 Maxim Glikin on the wave of patriotism in Russia
16:58 Military correspondents against roadblocks and the culling of livestock
23:00 Denis Grekov on the anger of military correspondents
26:00 Denis Grekov on the protests of 29 March