K-State student joins protest of Russian election

Tens of thousands of people went to the streets on Saturday in Moscow, Russia, demanding fairness in the presidential elections that are scheduled for March 4. A dozen people in Kansas City, Mo., joined 30 other cities all over the world to support protesters in Russia.

The protest took place at the Country Club Plaza in the center of the city, where 12 people came to express their disagreement with falsification of parliament elections in Russia on Dec. 4, 2011. They were also protesting Vladimir Putin, former president and current prime minister of Russia.

Natalya Makarova, graduate student in statistics, went to Kansas City to participate in the event and was instrumental in forming the protest.

Aleksander Elesev, initiator of the protest and Makarova's husband, moved to the U.S. in 2006 and worked as a software developer at Cerner Corporation. He created a Facebook group to gather people to protest. Five Russians and seven Americans joined the event.

The majority of people protesting on Saturday had never participated in any kind of protests before the last election.

Elesev said it was his second protest since December. He also said he was a child the last time he participated in political events, when the Soviet Union still existed.

"I've been watching what's been happening in Russia for years since I left the country," Elesev said. "I couldn't stand anymore just to see all the fraud, constant corruption, the promises from government for years that did not result in anything. Everybody is just tired of that and people are ready for the change."

Protesters held signs with demands for a fair voting process in Russia. There were also six Americans who came to protest against the war in Iran.

Jeremy Alttej, political organizer, said he was pretty ignorant about the political situation in Russia. Elesev taught Alltej about Alexei Navalny, a Russian lawyer one of the opposition leaders in protest.

"I learned a little bit more about Alexei Navalny," Alltej said.

Dan Hrenchir, protest participant, came there with his wife and three children. His wife Yevgeniya is from Russia, which is why Hrenchir said he is following what's happening in Russia.

"It's ridiculous," he said "They don't understand what democracy is. When the USSR collapsed, I hoped real democracy will be there. Apparently Putin decided it's not going to happen."

After holding signs, protesters put on masks with Putin's face of different colors.

"That's what happens in Russia during elections," Elesev said. "You can choose just from Putin."

Participants of the protest then attached the Putin masks to white balloons and let them fly away, saying "Let Putin go."

Elesev said he was satisfied with a protest. There were eight people at the previous protest in December.

"It was a good tour," he said. "My friends back in Russia in different cities go to protest as well."

Makarova came from Russia three years ago. She is graduating from K-State this spring. She said she had talked to some other Russians from K-State about joining the event, but none of them agreed to come.

"I talked to some Russian professors," she said. "But they are not involved in politics. They don't believe you can change anything going to the streets in Kansas City. They believe the government will do whatever it wants anyway."

Makarova said this kind of cynicism and apathy is beneficial for the government, because if a country's citizens do not participate in political issues, then governments are free to do whatever they want.

"I'm a teacher," Makarova said. "If my students don't ask me questions, I just do whatever I want in class. If they don't participate, I just control everything."

It was the third mass demonstration that the Russians organized after parliament elections were falsified on Dec. 4, 2011.

Opposition to the majority party in Russia is demanding to rerun recent elections in order to ensure fair vote of the presidential elections on March 12, 2012. Hundreds of Russians across the country and abroad took to the street to support protesters in Moscow.