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December 6, 2011

This Facebook Rally Will Not be Televised in Russia

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Russian President Vladimir Putin’s grip on power is more tenuous than ever following big losses in last Sunday’s parliamentary election. This is not surprising, since Putin does not actually have much support, says the former World Chess Champion and Russian Presidential Candidate Garry Kasparov. According to Kasparov, Putin’s power has been based mostly on the apathy of the Russian population.

However, that appears to be changing right now, as we are witnessing right now with the so-called ‘Facebook rally’ and other reactions to alleged election fraud in Russia. Will the social unrest that has toppled dictators in the Arab world spread to Russia? While the spontaneous rally is not being shown on Russian state TV, it is spreading around the Russian blogosphere. In the video below, Kasparov tells Big Think he believes a social revolt is inevitable.

Watch the video here:

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