GibburtBlue buckets for equal rights
Peaceful protest against injustice can take many forms. Very common is the gathering of a group, walking in concert through the streets with banners and shouting paroles. Writing letters, discussing the issue, protest songs, satirical video clips, pamphlets, the list goes on and on.
Recently I came across one of my favorite forms of protest: the ridiculing protest.
In Moscow blue buckets are being used by car drivers to protest against the illicit use of migalki: removable blue lights used by high ranking government officials and wealthy businessmen in Moscow to get through traffic easily.
Officially the use of the migalka was restricted in 2007, but in a city where corruption makes the world go round, the number of migalki is much greater than the intended 2,000.
The same reason that made the administration impose the restriction in 2007 is now salient again: traffic accidents. A streak of lethal accidents, caused by migalki chauffeurs driving like madmen, combined by the fact that local police is not actively arresting the culprits but sometimes even assisting in cover ups, has driven people to protest.
The form of this protest is hilarious: blue buckets as fake migalki. First the buckets were mounted on top of cars in order to drive around town in procession. This was quickly prohibited by the authorities. The next step was to leave the cars at home and simply place the buckets on the head. Unfortunately the authorities didn’t find this amusing either, and this rally was prohibited as well. Even some Duma members called for action and proposed a bill to make it easier to prevent these protests.
A few days later the news was released that the police officers who arrested the protesters are being punished. Unfortunately the person in the video, who jumps on the roof of the car, has been arrested.
Nevertheless this shows that there is still room in Russia to protest against injustice. Maybe it’s because car owners are a large group and they’re organized, so they have some influence. This in contrast to Emin Milli and Adnan Hajizade in Azerbeijan: even protest of a hilarious nature can be dangerous as hell and get you into lonely seclusion for several years.
I asked a friend of mine, living in Moscow, about this story. His reaction: “oh yeah, this bull crap. I couldn’t care less.”
Guess young ppl living in Russia have more serious problems than this circus: like building up their business or finding a job.
I asked a friend of mine, living in Moscow, about this story. His reaction: “oh yeah, this bull crap. I couldn’t care less.”
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