Authors

Maria Chiara Franceschelli¹;  ¹ Scuola Normale Superiore (Florence), Italy

Discussion

Over the last twenty years, the Putin's regime has gradually increased the pressure on civil society. Coherently, collective action in Russia has consistently shifted towards non-contentiousness and pragmatism. Studies on civil society have thoroughly illustrated how both non-profit and claims-making civil society organisations designed innovative mobilisation strategies to pursue their goals without incurring harsh repression, showing creativity and resourcefulness. These strategies mostly avoid openly contentious politics and questioning the political status quo. 

However, the environmental mobilisations in response to the construction of a landfill in Shies, in the Arkhangelsk region, seem to contradict these trends. Started in a remote village in the Russian Northwestern region, an unprecedented wave of contentious protests soon spread across the whole country. They featured diverse strategic repertoires and engaged a number of different actors, challenged the power vertical, and eventually led to positive outcomes for the protesting groups. 

Based on social movement studies and theories of populism, this paper aims to assess what made this exception possible, in the context of a shrinking operating space for civil society initiative.