9ke9,
Many in Russia (including the government) see those protests (with the exception of the original one, December 4th, which was aimed to disrupt the election in Moscow), as a healthy evolution in Russia. I didn't notice that somebody was trying to suppress them... When you say "mass" you need to understand, that in Moscow 20K-50K is a solid (and, probably, not even big) percent of the middle class. Again, just pay attention on the protesters -- they do not look neither poor nor desperate at all. So, my assumption -- many of them are just working for hundreds of those foreign companies located in Moscow... "Communis t Baby Boomers" may not necessarily be the case in Russia. I mean, they suppose to be, if the USSR would still exist and performed its post-WW2 way lifestyle, but, many of them have been "wiped out" by those "house-cleaning years" (1990s). Remember, the average life spam for man was 55 years? As a result, the current Russia is a relatively (to the West) youth country. I don't think (I may be mistaken, though -- I need to see it by my own eyes) that we are not talking about reeducation of the "boomers" in Russia. I believe, unlike the West, the country simply will pass that stage and go in the future with new blood only... Zeitgeist movement has a lot of Russian subscribers? Interesting, though, not very much surprising. Russians were always big dreamers. May be this is because they are trapped in the cold climate...

Bogdanov

Than ks for the feedback , I'm always willing to learn more , i agree with you, but i was talking more generally about the people that attended not the "leaders" as such , you may fit these "leaders" into the third category i presented, but never the less, if a mass population attends there is always a reason , and the more one looks at it the more it seems like a sociological hangover of what we would call here in the west  "Communist Baby Boomers" and if one was to write policy it would have to be toward education , starting a Primary school , not indoctrination but simple education.

1. What is a market?
2. What is money?
3. How does it work?

maybe its there already but as per the hangover, how could a teacher go from teaching a strict Communist/Socialist doctrine to the basic Mechanics of Money and a market.

Look at the list of how many subscribers the Zeitgeist movement has from the Russian Federation, i think you would find these protesters well represented.

the point is when the Federation has a lack of openness towards their own economic monetary policy , these people believe that this lack of openness is no different to any other countries lack of openness, add that to a general misunderstanding of the differences in the systems and you have group of people that know/think they have to rise against something, but are not exactly sure what it is .

that or they just want more jobs with better pay.

either way I think that's a part of the answer.
It also the reason i generally thin these protests are a healthy evolution in Russia, not what others would like to think.

Hey!

Stop Mocking the Nazis - they are the good guys ... they have more morals, and are more socially advanced than the Americans, and they carried out less Genocide than that Russians by at least a factor of 20!

Russia needs Asia leaders.   I [Nay Lin Maung] encourage all of the leadership in the Asia [North, South, East and West] need to unite to help out Russia Federation in order to build Eurasian Union uniting all of the Asian people and some Eastern people of the Europe.   &nb sp;

PR1oh1,
I wouldn't categorize and portray people as all alike. Unfortunately (or fortunately -- depends who you look at it) for me, they do it for me -- they distinguish themselves, put themselves in the groups and categories, and, then, create special rules for themselves. I do not necessarily apply it to Jewish only. Actually, I wouldn't pay any attention to it. But this noise around that Amendment is mostly about Jewish. So, I just pointed that out -- what the problem comes from...

In America, it is called "student loans." 

Bogdanov wrote in #6
In any country with big Jewish population nothing should be for free. Because, they tend to monopolize those benefits. They also tend to migrate to places with better quality of life. As a result, they may just expoit the country and its resources for personal only benefits.(This is my antisemitic part is talking :-))... I don't think it is wise to categorize certain peoples to portray them all alike. One thing that seems to be true is that many Jewish people seem to be highly motivated. But, there are Jewish "slums" also.

In any country with big Jewish population nothing should be for free. Because, they tend to monopolize those benefits. They also tend to migrate to places with better quality of life. As a result, they may just expoit the country and its resources for personal only benefits.(This is my antisemitic part is talking :-))...

9ke9,
I understand that this is your view on the situation, I and am not trying to re-convince you with anything. But, I see things little bit differently. While I agree with you that the protesters (the real ones) divided on two parts and one part was nationalists, the other part, though, were not the Left as you think. They were quite opposite --&nbs p;new Russian bourgeoisie (Right) trying to masquerade themselves as Left. If you just conduct simple research on their leaders, you would understand what I am talking about. Left (the Communists), probably, had their meeting as well. But, I didn't hear about it -- firstly, they, at this stage, are more-or-less sa tisfied with the results of the elections and, secondly, they are not part of the Neocon-mentored "opposition network" in Russia. Thus, no much publicity for them.

If the amendment hurts Americans more than Russians, why then Russians worry about its existence? It doesn't make sense... What the Soviets did in the 1972 was totally morally right move -- the education in the USSR was free and the cost was covered by those farmers and workers whose children not necessarily decided to become scientists and engineers. In the beginning of 1980s the cost of colledge/university education was equivalent to about 2000-3000 rubles per student per year -- very big money for average Soviets; at that time, formally, 1 ruble ~ $1.3) Thus, the damage for the country should be re-payed by those who left the USSR... And I don't care what reaction that caused in the US or in any other places, and for what reasons. For the Soviets that was simply right thing to do.

Jackson-Vanik amendment, remains to be valid, though it has been regularly granted a waiver vis-a-vis the Russian Federation. The President can grant waivers to any country. It is probably an amendment that has lived its useful life and should be repealed.

tell the Nazi American Terrorist Org to p-ss off they do not own you or have the right to tell you to do anything stop dealing with the us because it will bring your economy down like it has the rest

Here is my 20c worth on the Protests:

The majority are a mix of different opposition groups, that all have seemed to been drawn together at the same time.

The majority are split i believe between:
1. Nationalists
2. "Left" leaning "Socialists"

The Nationalists with all due respect (in my opinion) , at the extreme end are no better than common Nazi's , i say that in reference to their outdated mode of thinking, not their economic policies, (of which National Socialists were actually good in some respects) - but overall a Russia led by these people seems (opinion) like it would be very Moscow centric and push towards a larger class society.

Then their opposition:

T he Left which i think are the larger of the group overall (obviously the sons and daughters of Communist Parents) , also with all due respect in all of my history in meeting groups of people i have found that the "left" were generally the most uneducated in terms of market economics or any economics, particularly related to money systems and monetary systems., i understand that this is obviously not the focus of any far left thinker , but ignorance of these things is a dislocation from reality. I'm not sure if the Russian system helps or hinders these peoples education , i don't see a lot of interaction towards a better knowledge of the function of Federation with regard to openness towards policy and economic policy?

Then there of course is:

The minority that is always there trying to melt into either of the two groups , these guys are the invaders , their groups have not changed , nor has their popularity (not very), they are the people that literally want to see the Federation Citizens as the Serfs they believe they should be,  completely ruled by a foreign entity, they will always try to come forward  at a time like this , but i think you will find things have changed.

Neit her the left or the right are buying that , but the Federation needs to give these people a voice.

probab ly even the sham crass cheap "Democracy" show we have here in the "West" would do?

but i think the Federation can do better than that.