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Russian Opposition Beset by Infighting as Country Expects More Turmoil

Jamie Dettmer

   A storied Russian liberal politician has sparked an outbreak of
   infighting among the country's opposition groups after mounting a
   scathing attack on Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny, arguing the path he
   would take the country down wouldn't lead to a life free of repression.
   "Everyone must decide whether to support Navalny or not," Grigory
   Yavlinsky wrote this week. "But you need to understand. A democratic
   Russia, respect for people, and a life without fear and repression are
   incompatible with Navalny's policies," he added.
   Yavlinsky, who ran twice for the Russia's presidency, in 1996 against
   Boris Yeltsin and in 2000 against Vladimir Putin, founded the Yabloko
   party, which favors free-market economics and social liberalism. He's
   been critical of Navalny in the past and this week repeated his
   accusation that Navalny, Russia's most high-profile opposition
   politician, is xenophobic and an authoritarian nationalist.
   The attack by Yavlinsky has split the party he founded and triggered
   broader opposition infighting. It comes amid signs the recent protests
   against the Kremlin, and demands for Navalny to be freed from jail, are
   not resonating with most Russians, and that the paramilitary style
   crackdown on the dissenters is deterring others from considering
   protesting or enlisting in any future political action.
   A poll conducted by the independent Levada Center carried out between
   January 29 and February 2 suggests there is little public appetite for
   agitation. Navalny survived a near-fatal poisoning, which he blames on
   the Kremlin and was arrested last month in Moscow on his return
   following life-saving treatment in Germany.
   In the past two weeks, pro-Navalny supporters were on the streets in
   more than a hundred cities across Russia's 11 time zones, with the
   largest protests mounted in the Russian capital and St. Petersburg.
   More than 11,000 people have been arrested at rallies opposing the
   jailing of Navalny, who started out as a blogger and became known as an
   anti-corruption campaigner.

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