Weekly Action - 2 March 2024 - Russia Protests
Russia protests
This Friday 1 March, thousands of Russians turned out in near freezing temperatures for the funeral of opposition activist Alexei Navalny. They chanted protest songs and slogans like “No to war”, “Russia without Putin” and “Russia will be free”. A sign at the cemetery read, “Putin killed him but didn’t break him”. “Those people in our government are cowards because they are afraid of us” one mourner said. More than 250,000 people watched the funeral on You Tube. Despite a heavy police presence, no action was taken against the mourners and demonstrators, though it is very possible many of these courageous protestors will be detained in the coming days. Several hundred have been arrested for laying flowers and taking part in memorial protests for Navalny across Russia in the two weeks since his death in an Arctic prison in highly suspicious circumstances on Friday 16 February. Similar protests have taken place around the world. Navalny’s widow Yulia has vowed to continue his struggle against Russia’s oppressive regime.[1] Putin’s government, whilst always repressive, has cracked down significantly on protest, dissent and opposition voices since the war in Ukraine began 2 years ago. Thousands have been arrested in the last couple of years across the country in anti-government and anti-war protests.
Reform Movements
The road out of repression and back to democracy, human rights and freedom in Russia will be long and hard, requiring much courage, sacrifice and perseverance. Yet, no matter how far off and hopeless that might seem at the moment, all the lessons from history indicate that where dramatic improvements in democracy, good governance and human rights have occurred in countries around the world, they have overwhelmingly been driven by just such mass peaceful domestic protest movements calling for reform and change, like that Navalny led. This is one of the key conclusions from the Arise Manifesto report, Arise’s Biblical and well-researched vision for a better world. We see it in the lessons from the Bible (The Arise Manifesto, pg 86 – 88), where prophets like Daniel challenged the rulers of their day, “Renounce your sins by doing what is right, and you wickedness by being kind to the oppressed” (Dan 4: 27).
We also see it when we look at the lessons from history (The Arise Manifesto, pg 108 – 119). In recent decades peaceful reform movements have had dramatic success in Serbia, Madagascar, Georgia, Ukraine, Lebanon, Nepal, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, East Germany, Slovenia, Mali, Bolivia, the Philippines, Zambia, South Korea, Chile, Argentina, Haiti, Brazil, Uruguay, Malawi, Thailand, Bulgaria, Hungary, Nigeria, and many other countries. Of course such movements require great courage and perseverance from those involved. They are not guaranteed to succeed every time. But overwhelmingly the power of ordinary people peacefully refusing to submit is remarkable, and has continually proved the most successful way to improve democracy, human rights and good governance in nations around the world.
Christians at the heart of Reform Movements
Throughout history, Christians and churches have played a hugely important central role in such reform movements (The Arise Manifesto, pg 283 – 303). They have worked well alongside journalists, academics, activists, students, trade unions and others in the movement. Supporting such bottom-up Reform Movements (and the Christians that are so often at the heart of them) is one of three key focus campaigns for Arise.
This week will you take action as part of Arise’s Reform Movements campaign, to support brave democracy and human rights activists in countries all around the world?
Take Action
Speak out in advocacy
Write to your MP in your own words asking them to take urgent action to:
- Urge the government to scale up support for pro-democracy and human rights reform movements not just in Russia, but also around the world, in the ways that those movements want. This might involve spotlighting and publicly condemning specific incidents, diplomatic pressure, targeted sanctions, recovering and returning stolen national assets, travel bans for regime members, offering asylum for activists who have had to flee, or multiple other actions.
Find your MP, and their contact details here
Pray
Pray for protection and peace for those who continue to bravely demand human rights, greater freedom, democracy and change, in Russia and other countries around the world, day after day. Pray for the Christians amongst them who are playing their part. Pray for change and reform, for governments that are truly democratic and respect all human rights.
Give
Give to Christian organisations like International Justice Mission, and to secular groups like Freedom House, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, who are doing crucial work protecting human rights globally.
Practical Action
Get involved in the decision-making by joining a political party, and in due course running for office at local or even national level. Use your position within that party to advocate for support for Reform Movements and other policies that establish social justice, eliminate poverty, restore the environment and build God’s Kingdom.
Ethical Consumption
Try and avoid buying products and services from companies whose operations (inadvertently or not) are helping to prop up unjust regimes. Check out the Ethical Consumer website for guidance on this.
Encourage us and others by letting us know what actions you have taken – message us at info@ariseuk.org, or via Twitter, Instagram or Facebook.
Find out more
It’s great to take this action as individual Christians, but even better to come together with others to pray, discuss, worship, learn, have fun and take action together. Contact Arise if you are interested in joining or starting a local Arise group in your church or area.
Find out more in the Arise Manifesto, Arise’s big picture, researched, Biblical, holistic and practical vision for a better world. It looks at what the Bible says, and what we can learn from the best data and the world’s leading experts on the five major areas of evangelism, discipleship, social justice, development and the environment. It then draws these lessons together into a practical road map for the changes we need to see in our world, which the Arise movement campaigns to achieve.
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[1] Alexei Navalny: Crowds chant defiance as they bid farewell to Navalny, BBC, (1 Mar 2024), https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-68450219