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Russia will be free

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

History

Origins

Bolshevik revolutionary Vladimir Shimanovsky [ru] 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 Obshchaya Gazeta [ru]: "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 Andrey Zaostrovtsev [ru] 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]

References

  1. ^ "«Мы не обнаружили достойного подвига». Амурские краеведы не поняли, почему улицу в Благовещенске назвали в честь Шимановского" (in Russian). Amur.life. 15 March 2021. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  2. ^ "Международное положение и организация Красной Армии" (in Russian). Marxists.org. Archived from the original on 2021-08-13. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  3. ^ ""Общая газета". 20 августа 1991 года". Общая газета (in Russian). 20 August 1991. Archived from the original on 2016-11-14. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  4. ^ "Шествие "Россия будет свободной"" (in Russian). Yabloko.ru. 21 August 2010. Archived from the original on 2012-02-09. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  5. ^ Zykov, Dimitri; Timofeev, Yuri; Tatarskii, Nikita; Chevtaeva, Irina; Kirilenko, Anastasia; Gutkina, Elena (29 December 2011). "Митинг на проспекте Сахарова" [Rally on Sakharov Avenue]. Радио Свобода (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2022-02-04. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  6. ^ "Пушкинская площадь: разгон после митинга" (in Russian). Эхо Кавказа. 6 March 2012. Archived from the original on 2022-03-27. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  7. ^ ""Многие завершали свое выступление на митинге фразой "Россия будет свободной"" (in Russian). Коммерсантъ. 6 May 2013. Archived from the original on 2022-03-27. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  8. ^ Dodolev, Yevgeny (2014). Девица Ноvодворская. Последняя весталка революции (in Russian). Рипол Классик. p. 347. ISBN 978-5386078614.
  9. ^ "«Мужчина, давайте кричать то же, что и все»" (in Russian). Gazeta.ru. 26 February 2017. Archived from the original on 2022-03-27. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  10. ^ "«Россия будет свободной»: в стране начались очередные акции протеста". Rosbalt (in Russian). 2021-01-31. Archived from the original on 2021-02-16. Retrieved 2022-04-12.
  11. ^ "Протесты 23 января. Главное". Коммерсантъ (in Russian). 2021-01-23. Archived from the original on 2021-01-30. Retrieved 2022-04-12.
  12. ^ "«Январисты»: что происходило на акции протеста в Петербурге. Видео". РБК (in Russian). 2021-01-23. Archived from the original on 2022-04-02. Retrieved 2022-04-12.
  13. ^ Gelman, Vladimir (2013). Из огня да в полымя: российская политика после СССР (in Russian). БХВ-Петербург. p. 226. ISBN 978-5977508278.
  14. ^ Gelman, Vladimir. Авторитарная Россия: Бегство от свободы, или Почему у нас не приживается демократия (in Russian). Альпина Паблишер. ISBN 5906067086.
  15. ^ ""Россия будет счастливой": Навальный в последнем слове предложил новый лозунг". dp.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2022-05-13.
  16. ^ "Белгородская область | Легион Свобода России". YouTube (in Russian). 26 May 2023.
  17. ^ "Обращение Легиона "Свобода России" к Евгению Пригожину". YouTube. 5 June 2023.
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