Russia will be free explained

"Russia will be free" (Russian: Россия будет свободной|Rossija budét svobodnoj) is one of the slogans of the modern Russian political opposition.

History

Origins

Bolshevik revolutionary wrote in his last letter to his wife before his execution: "Russia will be free, no matter how hard its enemies try, and this faith gives me the opportunity to die in peace".[1] Leon Trotsky, in a lecture delivered on June 16, 1918, said: "Fellow brothers! I call on you to proclaim with me: "Long live the Red Workers' Army and long live the honest labor Workers' and Peasants' Soviet Republic!“ It will not be a slave and will fight to the last drop of blood. Russia will be free! Russia will be popular! Russia will be happy!".[2]

Contemporary usage

Boris Yeltsin during the August 1991 coup attempt wrote in the : "The days of the conspirators are numbered. Law and constitutional order will prevail. Russia will be free!".[3] In 2010, the Memorial organization and the Yabloko party organized a march in honor of the victory over the 1991 coup, which was held under the slogan "Russia will be free".[4]

Subsequently, the slogan was often used at opposition rallies, including those during the 2011–2013 Russian protests: at a rally on Sakharov Avenue in December 2011,[5] rally in March 2012,[6] rally at Bolotnaya Square in May 2013, where many people ended their speeches with this slogan, including Alexei Navalny,[7] funeral of Valeriya Novodvorskaya in 2014[8] and the March in memory of Boris Nemtsov in 2017.[9] Also, the slogan was repeatedly used at 2021 protests in support of Alexei Navalny.[10] [11] [12] According to political analyst Vladimir Gelman, "the slogan of the participants of the opposition rallies — "Russia will be free" — may not just be a call, but become a key aspect of the political agenda for our country in the foreseeable future".[13] Economist expressed the opposite point of view: "if Russia - then not free, if free - then not Russia." In his opinion, the democratization of societies belonging to a "power" civilization is possible only due to a special combination of circumstances arising after external shocks and crises.[14] Alexei Navalny, after returning to Russia after poisoning, at a court hearing on February 20, 2021, proposed changing the slogan and saying that Russia should be not only free, but also happy.[15]

Russo-Ukrainian War

The slogan is also used by Russians fighting in the Russo-Ukrainian War on the side of Ukraine, notably in the Freedom of Russia Legion.[16] [17]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: «Мы не обнаружили достойного подвига». Амурские краеведы не поняли, почему улицу в Благовещенске назвали в честь Шимановского. Amur.life. 15 March 2021. 27 March 2022 . ru.
  2. Web site: Международное положение и организация Красной Армии. Marxists.org. 27 March 2022. 2021-08-13. https://web.archive.org/web/20210813221729/https://www.marxists.org/russkij/trotsky/works/trotl671.html . ru.
  3. News: "Общая газета". 20 августа 1991 года. Общая газета. 20 August 1991. 27 March 2022. 2016-11-14. https://web.archive.org/web/20161114113624/http://yeltsin.ru/archive/photo/54815/. ru.
  4. Web site: Шествие "Россия будет свободной". Yabloko.ru. 21 August 2010. 27 March 2022. 2012-02-09. https://web.archive.org/web/20120209200811/http://www.yabloko.ru/regnews/ekb/2010/08/21. ru.
  5. News: Митинг на проспекте Сахарова . Rally on Sakharov Avenue . . 29 December 2011. 27 March 2022 . live . 2022-02-04 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220204124348/https://www.svoboda.org/a/24431541.html . Zykov . Dimitri . Timofeev . Yuri . Tatarskii . Nikita . Chevtaeva . Irina . Kirilenko . Anastasia . Gutkina . Elena . ru.
  6. Web site: Пушкинская площадь: разгон после митинга . Эхо Кавказа . 6 March 2012. 27 March 2022 . 2022-03-27 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220327003807/https://www.ekhokavkaza.com/a/24506000.html . ru.
  7. Web site: "Многие завершали свое выступление на митинге фразой "Россия будет свободной" . . 6 May 2013. 27 March 2022 . 2022-03-27 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220327003807/https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/2184873 . ru.
  8. Book: Dodolev, Yevgeny . Yevgeny Dodolev. Девица Ноvодворская. Последняя весталка революции. Рипол Классик. 2014. 347. 978-5386078614 . ru.
  9. Web site: «Мужчина, давайте кричать то же, что и все» . Gazeta.ru. 26 February 2017 . 27 March 2022 . 2022-03-27 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220327003806/https://www.gazeta.ru/politics/2017/02/26_a_10545821.shtml . ru.
  10. Web site: «Россия будет свободной»: в стране начались очередные акции протеста. 2021-01-31. 2022-04-12. Rosbalt. 2021-02-16. https://web.archive.org/web/20210216073702/https://m.rosbalt.ru/russia/2021/01/31/1884947.html . ru.
  11. Web site: Протесты 23 января. Главное. Коммерсантъ. 2021-01-23. 2022-04-12. 2021-01-30. https://web.archive.org/web/20210130112231/https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/4661089#id2005173 . ru.
  12. Web site: «Январисты»: что происходило на акции протеста в Петербурге. Видео. РБК. 2022-04-12. 2021-01-23. 2022-04-02. https://web.archive.org/web/20220402130533/https://www.rbc.ru/spb_sz/23/01/2021/600c051b9a794749c03f3abf . ru.
  13. Book: Gelman, Vladimir . Vladimir Gelman . Из огня да в полымя: российская политика после СССР. БХВ-Петербург. 2013. 226. 978-5977508278 . ru.
  14. Book: Gelman, Vladimir . Vladimir Gelman . Авторитарная Россия: Бегство от свободы, или Почему у нас не приживается демократия. Альпина Паблишер. 5906067086 . ru.
  15. Web site: ru. "Россия будет счастливой": Навальный в последнем слове предложил новый лозунг. dp.ru. 2022-05-13.
  16. Web site: Белгородская область | Легион Свобода России . . 26 May 2023 . ru.
  17. Web site: Обращение Легиона "Свобода России" к Евгению Пригожину . . 5 June 2023 .

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