ORYOL, Russia – About 200 miles southwest of Moscow, Oryol is a world away from the bright lights and prosperity of the Russian capital. Look here to understand the tens of thousands of protesters who have left the country to protest the detention of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.
The industry in Oryol has never fully recovered from the post-Soviet collapse of Russia. Factories that were once proud are abandoned. There are no indoor toilets and running water in parts of the city. With few job prospects, many young people feel they have no choice but to leave.
Mr Navalny’s treatment may have lit the fuse for protests, but the rallies quickly became an outlet for the Russians’ widespread grievances over declining living standards, collapsing infrastructure and chronic corruption, marking a tectonic shift in relations between ordinary citizens. and the Kremlin. .
“People don’t go out to protest in front of anyone, they go against something,” said Artyom Prokhorov, a marketing manager in Oryol who shares a two-bedroom apartment with his ex-wife and their two children. Navalny was just a trigger. People are fed up with what is happening here. “
For much of President Vladimir Putin’s 20-year power, oil prices were high and economic growth solid. Russian military interventions abroad aroused national pride. And the Russians largely stayed out of opposition politics and protests.