Russian Protest Strategy

Author: Denis Zakharov
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OK, so people speak about the protest strategy that is completely wrong right now. Couldn't agree more. Let me once again pitch you the idea and brainstorm together.

Let's start with the issues:

Now let's get optimistic. Imagine if we had any info about the locations of protesters. Wouldn't it give us more insight into the planning? What a valuable map it could be... It exists. They made a fucking map with real people telling their locations. free.navalny.com: Я требую, чтобы Алексея Навального немедленно освободили

Wait! You can see how the protesters are dispersed throughout the city??? Yes, I do.

Are locations important? Yes. The whole Bolotnaya was unsuccessful just because it's an easily blocked island. On the other hand, they couldn't catch us when we suddenly went to Matrosskaya tishina district, and were like vermins sneaking through apartment blocks.

That success is easy to explain - most of the OMON are coming from different cities and they don't know Moscow. All the secret routes and passways that are known by locals are just a mystery to them. No, I don't propose making the next rally in Biryulevo. Wait for that.

Let's go even further. What is the main problem of Russia as a combat force? No, @MuKappa that's the time when the answer "imperialism" doesn't work. It is logistics. They are really bad at moving because every move needs an order while the order needs a higher order.

And the last point before the innevitable conclusion. Are we rigid? Or maybe we can receive some instruction online and make decisions based on it really fast? Wait, isn't it exactly what Smart Voting was??? I guess so. en.wikipedia.org: Smart Voting - Wikipedia

So. The local stuff is good. Police have troubles with logistics. We can connect through the internet and make decisions fast.

What if we announce not one, not two but 9 protest rallies in a single day? The imaginary post would be like: "Hello we are going to have 9 rallies this Saturday. We need you to save 4 hours of your free time (from 14 to 16) and wait for instructions".

Later on, two days before the protest we announce the districts where rallies will happen. We still don't disclose exact locations or time. Now you can plan your probable route and wait for further instructions. The police are free to panic and try to organize something.

What they don't know is how shitty it will be for them to move to the place. Three rallies will happen at the same time in COMPLETELY DIFFERENT places. Here is an example.

Can we make it harder for them to move and invite even more people into action? Yes. We tell: "anyone who has reasons not to join the protest needs just to casually drive for 4 hours in these areas. We need traffic jams and that is 100% safe".

OK, now it's the day. Two hours before the protest, we drop the time and exact location. It's not 'standing and watching' protest - it's moving, so that's not the pin but the entire route inside the district.

But how are we sure that the message will get delivered and not blocked or faked. We need the announcer to be public, away from Russia and have plenty of different platforms (that can't be blocked altogether). Let's imagine that is @st_vincent

So that is it. Now let's speak about what we get from this strategy.

If it works out, we get people inspired. OMON is suddenly not an intimidating force but idiots in stupid masks blocked in a traffic jam. You can protest and get away. All you need is to be smart.

We build stronger social connections. I will never meet the tiny guy from Wednesday because he lives in Rechnoy Vokzal and I am from Taganka. But if it happened locally, we could even share a beer on weekends and discuss/plan/communicate.

Our knowledge of the place is our protection. I know every little piece of my district and OMON doesn't. Will everyone get away? No. But the chances are way higher. Add the transportation clusterfuck we create and it becomes a very different story.

This is really different to see protests on YouTube and see them in person. I've noticed it near Matrosskaya Tishina. People were just interested and surprised that it happens at their door. This is a viral effect at its finest.

And now to the sad part. I tried to pitch it. But people were ignoring me. It's funny that I have 5k audience from the whole world and like zero people in russia itself. And now I need your help.

If you believe this plan might work, let's make russian opposition see it. Send the link to the thread to every popular opposition figure you might remember. Katz, Navalny team, Khodorkovsky, I don't care. Spam the hell out of them and make them react. They know English.

If you are afraid, that can harm me, don't. I already made myself a life-long sentence with my speeches. And the sooner people rise, the safer I am. Thank you and I really hope to see this mess in person.

@max_katz @fbkinfo @Kasparov63 @mich261213 @michaelnacke @navalny @IlyaYashin @femagainstwar @vesna_democrat Sup guys? (i know some are arrested but they have teams)