Department or Program

Politics

Abstract

This thesis examines why Russian citizens living under the authoritarian Putin regime choose to protest despite the incredible risk. This thesis first examines the history of Russian activism since the end of the Soviet Union, and the crackdown on Russian civil liberties since the fallout of the 2011 Russian Election and Putin’s return to the presidency. I will then focus on three significant protest movements in Russia, the 2011-2013 Protests, the protests in support of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, and the protests against the 2022 Invasion of Ukraine. These movements are chosen due to both their scope, and their position in Russian history, which shows the increasing authoritarianism in Putin’s regime. In examining why the protesters chose to participate, I examined existing literature on the protest movements, as well as interviews with Russians who chose to attend. In these accounts, I examined the prevalence and relationship of four factors; moral emotions, ideological identification with the movement, biographical availability and existence of organizational and relational ties to social networks. Through the examination of these four factors, I hoped to answer the question of what causes Russians to protest.

Level of Access

Open Access

First Advisor

Richter, James

Date of Graduation

5-2024

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Number of Pages

133

Components of Thesis

1 pdf file

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