Protests in Russia's regions: The influence of regional governance

Abstract

This study addresses the question of what accounts for variation in the number of protests across Russia's regions. The article argues that protests in Russia are best framed as acts of political communication, in which the protestors are making claims against local government entities as opposed to the national government. Viewed in this way, protest can be viewed as accountability mechanisms directed toward local and regional governments. Examining protests across 82 Russian regions from 2007 to 2010 finds that the quality of local governance is a significant factor in explaining the variation of the number of protests, whereas support for the national government is not significant. Kushtau mountain, located in the Russian Republic of Bashkortostan, is one of the four "Shihans." The Shihans are limestone mountains that are the residue of ancient sea reefs. They are unique geological features that have long been sacred places for the local Bashkirs. In addition, Kushtau contains approximately 40 plants and animals classified as rare or endangered by the Russian government. The mountains, however, have been targets of the Bashkir Soda Company, which is interested in mining the limestone. Shakhtau, another of the Shihans, has been destroyed and replaced with a quarry due to mining. The Bashkir Soda Company intended to move to Kushtau mountain next, as the other two Shihans already had protected status. The mining company received permission to develop the site in August of 2019 and planned on beginning August 16, 2020. The planned development resulted in large-scale protests on August 15, 2020, by local residents to preserve the mountain and stop the mining of the limestone rock. The resulting protests turned violent, as protestors clashed with both police and private security firms. The efforts to develop were halted on August 17 in order to reach a compromise. On August 26, President Putin suggested local authorities should investigate the concerns of the local protestors, and on September 2, Radiy Khabirov (the head of Bashkortostan) officially granted Kushtau protected status, effectively ending the threat to the mountain (Abbasova 2020).While the speed at which this situation escalated and was resolved is uncommon, the general characteristics of this protest situation are not atypical. The protest focused on a local issue and a place with local significance to the community. The target of the protest was not the national government but was the regional government, as well as a private company. The protests were not largely about abstract notions of democracy or anti-Putin. They were about a specific case of corruption and government action affecting an area of local significance. This is what many discussions of protests in Russia are missing. Protests in Moscow and anti-Putin protests are certainly noteworthy, but there are many other protests that occur outside of Moscow that tend to focus on matters of local concern.