The September 7 Kremlin-backed religious-nationalist procession in Moscow only drew 40,000 people, supporting the argument that right-wing activists remain a marginal force and do not pose a threat to the regime. In contrast, grassroots networks built around “war correspondents”—Russians who post information about the war independent of the Kremlin, including soldiers—that supply the army with equipment have grown influential, forming a parallel civil society. War correspondents openly highlight problems at the front while remaining ideologically pro-war yet semi-independent of Kremlin control. The Kremlin, initially tolerant because these networks aid the army, has begun repressive measures, for example, labeling blogger Roman Alekhin a “foreign agent, to curb war correspondents’ independence while avoiding turning them into symbols of resistance.
Kremlin Fears That Russian ‘War Correspondents’ Could Prototype Civil Society – Jamestown
