Violent ‘Russian Spring’ protests could follow a Vladimir Putin victory: Opposition leader
Peter Goodspeed, National PostRussia’s presidential elections hold the potential to spark violent protests, but are unlikely to trigger a revolution, Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov told a Toronto audience Tuesday.
“You must not talk of a ‘Russian Spring’ but of ‘Russian Springs,’ I don’t know how many,” Mr. Nemtsov told the Economic Club of Canada. “Our goal is to lead to democracy and freedom and modernization in Russia, but it will take time.”
But if Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin manages to win next month’s presidential elections with a knockout in the first round, Russia could undergo a spasm of violent protest, Mr. Nemtsov warned.
“It is difficult to predict what will happen in the next few years in Russia or even in the near future,” he said. “A lot depends on the fraud and falsification that takes place in the elections. If they repeat what they did in December (during controversial parliamentary elections), it will be difficult.
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