2018 Russian pension protests

2018 Russian pension protests
Part of 2017–2018 Russian protests and opposition to Vladimir Putin in Russia
Action against the planned pension reform in Hyde-Park Moscow on 18 July
Date1 July – 7 November 2018
(4 months and 6 days)
  • 1 July 2018
  • 18 July 2018
  • 28–29 July 2018
  • 2 September 2018
  • 9 September 2018
  • 22 September 2018
  • 5–7 November 2018
Location
Cities all over Russia
Caused by
  • Raising the retirement age
Goals
MethodsDemonstrations and Internet activism
Status
  • Retirement age raising reduced from 63 to 60 for women
  • Some actions against the reform were continued with a lower intensity
  • Dmitry Medvedev's Second Cabinet resigned in January 2020 due to low approval rating
Parties
Lead figures
Number
Unknown
Casualties
Injuries2

The 2018 Russian pension protests were a series of country-wide protests and demonstrations in Russia demanding abandoning of the retirement age hike.

A plan of the pension reform was unexpectedly announced by Dmitry Medvedev's Second Cabinet on June 14, 2018, which was the opening day of the 2018 FIFA World Cup hosted in Russia.[4] During the tournament, any demonstrations were prohibited but from July 2018 thousands of Russians expressed their negative opinion on the planned reform of the pension system. The anti-reform rallies and other actions were mostly organized by the Communist Party of the Russian Federation and A Just Russia party;[5] however, other political parties, trade unions and individuals also contributed to coordination of these protests.[citation needed] The corresponding bill was signed into law on October 3, and afterwards some actions against the reform were continued, although with a lower intensity.

An intention to hike the national retirement age and the more so a final decision to launch the reform have drastically downed the rating of the president Vladimir Putin and prime minister Dmitry Medvedev in Russia. In July 2018, just 49% would vote for Putin if the presidential elections were held in that moment; during the elections in March, he got 76.7%.[6][7]

Background

On June 14, 2018, the Russian government announced the plan of the pension reform presuming a substantial increase of the retirement age (for men from 60 to 65 and for women from 55 to 63).[4] Previously, until the 2018 Russian presidential election, this topic was practically silenced in Russian state media, in particular several days before the election the RIA Novosti agency published an article denying existence of any intentions to raise the pension age until 2030.[8] In the previous years the problem was sporadically discussed but with no special accent. So an announcement of the reform plan by Prime Minister Medvedev has shocked the majority of Russian citizens.

The pension reform became the central question in Russia at that time. Immediate protests during the World Cup were, however, not allowed (except Internet-activism) from security reasons. The street protest actions were appointed for the end-July and subsequent months. The government was accused of misusing soccer for hiding the unpopular measures. Near 90% of Russian citizens do not approve of the reform.[9]

On July 19, during the first reading of the corresponding bill in the State Duma, the pro-Putin political party United Russia (with a single exception of Natalia Poklonskaya) has supported the retirement age hike, while all the opposition fractions, left-wing and liberal, were against it.[10]

Key protest events

Statistical studies show that the number of protest actions in the country has nearly tripled in the third quarter from the year before, almost exclusively because of the plan to raise the retirement age.[11]

July–August 2018

Anti-reform action on 28 July in Moscow

The first noteworthy street rallies, related with the retirement-age reform, proceeded on July 1. Several thousand people protested across Russia against an extremely unpopular government decision to hike the pension age that has led to a record slump in President Vladimir Putin's approval ratings. No protests were held in World Cup host cities due to a regulation banning protest in the cities for the duration of the tournament.[12][13][14][15]

From mid-July, protest rallies and demonstrations were organized practically every weekend, and sometimes also on working days. They occurred in nearly all major cities countrywide including Novosibirsk, Saint-Petersburg and Moscow. Total number of participants exceeded 200 thousands. These events were coordinated by all opposition parties, who usually have nothing common in political affairs. Also trade unions and individual politicians (Alexey Navalny, Sergei Udaltsov) functioned as organizers of the public actions. The largest protest events of the summer occurred on July 18 and July 28–29.[16] In particular, on July 28, more than 10,000 people attended a rally in the capital, Moscow.[10]

September 2018

On September 2, large-scale anti-reform manifestations were led by the Russian communists and some other left-wing oppositional political forces. In Moscow, about 9,000 people attended a rally against the governmental pension reform.[5][17]

A week later, on September 9, the demonstrations against the plans to raise the national retirement age were organized by Alexey Navalny all over Russia. The events occurred in more than 80 cities including the capital. The most of actions were not permitted by the authorities, and the police detained in total about 1000 participants.[18][19] Beyond the anti-reform slogans, the participants chanted "Russia without Putin" and held signs with messages like "Putin, when will you go on pension?".[20]

Anti-reform rally on 22 September in Moscow

Further rallies were announced for every Saturday or Sunday of September 2018. So, on September 22, the countrywide protest actions were organized by the Communist party. In Moscow, several thousands demanded abandoning the pension reform and blamed the Russian government for this unpopular initiative.[21][22]

The reform has heavily affected the Russia's local elections in September 2018: the results of the governing United Russia party was the worst for more than 10 years.[23]

United Russia lost the Khabarovsk Krai gubernatorial election and Vladimir Oblast gubernatorial election to the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, and lost Khakassia election to the Communist Party of the Russian Federation.

Reaction of authorities

The reform was passed by the State Duma on first reading on July 19, with a 328-104 vote.[24]

Following strong protests (and a strong fall in Putin's and United Russia's popularity), the president of Russia Vladimir Putin has submitted to the Duma some amendments to reduce the hike of the retirement age for women from 63 to 60 years (i.e. +5 instead of +8). Also some other softenings were foreseen, e.g. for women having 3 and more children.[25] The amendments were unanimously passed by the State Duma on September 26.[citation needed]

Nevertheless, the opposition forces and the overwhelming majority of ordinary Russians estimated the presidential changes as by far insufficient and were disappointed at his decision. So in addition to the requirement of abandoning the reform in general and of the resignation of the Government, also the requirement of resignation of Vladimir Putin was raised.[26]

Despite the protests, on September 27, the amended version of the bill was passed by the State Duma on second reading with a 326-59 vote and 1 abstention .[27] On October 3, the bill was also passed by the Federation Council with a 149-5 vote, with 3 abstentions.[28] Finally, Putin signed the pension bill into law later on the same day. It entered into force after it was published on the Rossiyskaya Gazeta some days later.[29]

After signing the bill into law

The oppositional political parties intended to continue fighting against the reform in order to convince the authorities to stop it. However the activity has gradually diminished and, except on November 5–7 (which commemorated the 101st anniversary of the October Revolution), no large anti-reform rallies were organized.[11] Many people came to conclusion that neither the Government nor the president would react to street protests, if any.[citation needed]

The pension reform was launched on January 1, 2019.

A countrywide anti-reform movement was resumed from early spring 2019. Numerous picketing actions and conferences aiming at attracting attention to the potential dangers of the new pension law were organized by the left-patriotic Sut Vremeni group (leader: S. Kurginyan). Furthermore, on March 23, the CPRF called the meetings against the social politics of the Russian government (including the retirement age hike) in the largest cities of Russia, e.g. in Moscow there were several thousand attendees. Nevertheless, an intensity of the street protests has not returned to the level of 2018 — and from 2020 under the COVID-19 pandemic the large-scale actions became impossible.

See also

References

  1. ^ Zherebiatev, Mikhail (26 March 2017). В Воронеже прошел самый крупный с 2011 года протестный митинг [The largest protest rally since 2011 in Voronezh]. Радио Свобода (in Russian). Retrieved 2 July 2017.
  2. ^ ""Гражданская платформа" поддержит Путина на выборах президента России". ТАСС. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
  3. ^ "Российский общенародный союз" выдвинул Бабурина кандидатом в президенты. РИА Новости (in Russian). 22 December 2017. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
  4. ^ a b A. Biryukov, A. Andrianovа (2018-06-14). "World Cup gives Russia cover for unpopular pension-age increase". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2018-06-17.
  5. ^ a b "Thousands protest against pension law despite Putin's rollback". Al Jazeera. 2018-09-02. Retrieved 2018-09-21.
  6. ^ S. Walker (2018-07-16). "Successful World Cup fails to halt slide in Vladimir Putin's popularity". The Guardian. Retrieved 2018-09-21.
  7. ^ R. Dobrokhotov (2018-07-13). "Why Putin's approval rating is falling". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2018-09-21.
  8. ^ "Повышение пенсионного возраста не обсуждается, заявили в Совфеде". РИА Новости. 2018-03-13. Retrieved 2018-07-19.
  9. ^ Y. Mayetnaya, R. Coalson (2018-08-05). "Not So United: Russia's Ruling Party Rattled By Pension-Reform Crisis". Radio Liberty. Retrieved 2019-01-05. A poll… by the Levada Center suggested that about 90 percent of Russians oppose the reform
  10. ^ a b "Thousands protest in Russia against proposed retirement age rise". Al Jazeera. 2018-07-28. Retrieved 2018-09-21.
  11. ^ a b "Russia protest activity surges over pension reform, report says". Bloomberg. 2018-11-08. Retrieved 2018-11-11.
  12. ^ S. Walker (2018-07-01). "Russians protest over pension age rise announced during World Cup". The Guardian. Retrieved 2018-09-21.
  13. ^ "Russians protest pension reform as Putin popularity slides". France 24. 2018-07-01. Retrieved 2018-09-21.
  14. ^ "Russians protest over retirement age hike as Putin's popularity falls". Dawn. 2018-07-02. Retrieved 2018-09-21.
  15. ^ "Putin approval rating plummets over rise in pension age". The Times. 2018-07-02. Retrieved 2018-09-21.
  16. ^ J. Heintz (2018-07-28). "Tens of thousands of Russians protest retirement age hikes". The Washington Times. Retrieved 2018-07-30.
  17. ^ P. Ivanova (2018-09-02). "Despite Putin's concessions, Russians protest pension reform law". Reuters. Retrieved 2018-09-05.
  18. ^ A. Kuzmin, A. Osborn (2018-09-09). "Russian police detain hundreds protesting against pension reform". Reuters. Retrieved 2018-09-10.
  19. ^ "Russia pension protests: Police break up opposition rallies". BBC. 2018-09-09. Retrieved 2018-09-10.
  20. ^ "Russians Rally Against Raising Pension Age". The New York Times. 2018-09-11. Retrieved 2018-09-12.
  21. ^ V. Isachenkov (2018-09-22). "Thousands rally across Russia against raising pension ages". Fox Business Network. Retrieved 2018-09-23.
  22. ^ "New Moscow protests against Russian pension reform bill". Euronews. 2018-09-22. Retrieved 2018-09-23.
  23. ^ "Protests over pension reform overshadow Russia's local elections". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  24. ^ "Controversial Russian pension reform passes first hurdle". The Independent. 2018-07-19. Archived from the original on 2022-05-01. Retrieved 2019-11-25.
  25. ^ "Russia's Putin softens pension reforms after outcry". BBC. 2018-08-29. Retrieved 2018-09-05.
  26. ^ "Russians Protest 'Cannibalistic' Pension Reform, Despite Putin's Concessions". Radio Liberty. 2018-09-02. Retrieved 2018-09-05.
  27. ^ N. Isayev, G. Tétrault-Farber (2018-09-26). "Russia moves closer to raising retirement age after parliament vote". Reuters. Retrieved 2018-09-27.
  28. ^ "Russian Senate Passes Contentious Pension Age Hike Bill". The Moscow Times. 2018-10-03. Retrieved 2019-11-25.
  29. ^ "Putin signs bill that raises pension age in Russia". The New York Times. 2018-10-03. Retrieved 2018-10-04.

Read other articles:

Organic compound with the formula CHCl3 For other uses, see Chloroform (disambiguation). Chloroform Names Preferred IUPAC name Trichloromethane Other names Chloroform[1]ChloroformiumFreon 20Methane trichlorideMethyl trichlorideMethenyl trichlorideMethenyl chlorideRefrigerant-20terchloride/perchloride of formyle[2][3] (archaic)Trichloretum Formylicum (Latin) Identifiers CAS Number 67-66-3 Y 3D model (JSmol) Interactive image Abbreviations R-20, TCM ChEBI CHEBI:3525...

 

 

Kantor Keimin Bunka Shidoso dengan bendera Jepang berkibar di depan bangunan. Keimin Bunka Shidōsho (Nippongo: 啓民文化指導所), (EVN: Poesat Keboedajaan) atau secara umum di kenal dengan Keimin Bunka Shidoso adalah lembaga seni dan budaya yang disponsori oleh Kekaisaran Jepang di Indonesia selama pendudukan Jepang di Hindia Belanda dalam masa Perang Dunia II[1][2] Sejarah Keimin Bunka Shidōsho didirikan oleh Undang-undang Publikasi Perfilman Jepang pada Juli 1938. Und...

 

 

Private, historically Black women's college in Atlanta, Georgia, US Spelman CollegeFormer namesAtlanta Baptist Female Seminary (1881–1884) Spelman Baptist Seminary (1884–1924)MottoOur Whole School for ChristTypePrivate historically Black[1] women's liberal arts collegeEstablishedApril 11, 1881; 142 years ago (1881-04-11)[2][3]Academic affiliationsACSSpace-grantEndowment$459.5 million (2022)[4]Budget$133.8 million (2023)[5]President...

Deputi Bidang Pemberdayaan Pemuda Kementerian Pemuda dan Olahraga Republik IndonesiaGambaran umumDasar hukumPeraturan Presiden Nomor 57 Tahun 2015Susunan organisasiDeputiAsrorun Ni’am Sholeh[1]Kantor pusatJalan Gerbang Pemuda No. 3Jakarta Pusat 10270DKI Jakarta, IndonesiaSitus webwww.kemenpora.go.id Deputi Bidang Pemberdayaan Pemuda merupakan unsur pelaksana pada Kementerian Pemuda dan Olahraga Republik Indonesia yang berada di bawah dan bertanggung jawab kepada Menteri Pemuda ...

 

 

Reichswerke Hermann GöringIndustriKonglomeratNasibDirebut dan dinasionalisasikan oleh para prajurit Sekutu pada 1943-1945PenerusSalzgitter AGDidirikan1937PendiriHermann GöringDitutup1945KantorpusatBerlin, Jerman NaziWilayah operasiJerman NaziKaryawanSekitar 500.000 Reichswerke Hermann Göring adalah sebuah konglomerat industrial Jerman Nazi. Perusahaan tersebut didirikan pada Juli 1937 untuk menyarikan dan mengolah bijih besi domestik dari Salzgitter yang dianggap tak ekonomis oleh pabrik-p...

 

 

1995 domestic terrorist attack in the United States Oklahoma City bombingThe Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building two days after the bombing, viewed from across the adjacent parking lotLocationAlfred P. Murrah Federal BuildingOklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S.Coordinates35°28′22″N 97°31′01″W / 35.47278°N 97.51694°W / 35.47278; -97.51694DateApril 19, 1995; 29 years ago (1995-04-19) 9:02 a.m. CDT (UTC-05:00)TargetU.S. federal governmentAttack t...

For the York, Pennsylvania, radio station, see WARM-FM. Radio station in Scranton, PennsylvaniaWARMSimulcasting WLGD DallasScranton, PennsylvaniaBroadcast areaScranton/Wilkes-Barre/HazletonFrequency590 kHzBrandingBigfoot Legends 101.7 & 107.7ProgrammingFormatClassic countryAffiliationsCompass Media NetworksOwnershipOwnerSeven Mountains Media(Southern Belle, LLC)Sister stationsWLGDHistoryFirst air date1940Technical information[1]Licensing authorityFCCFacility ID70504ClassBPower1,8...

 

 

Iris and the LieutenantPoster filmSutradaraAlf SjöbergProduserHarald MolanderDitulis olehOlle HedbergAlf SjöbergPemeranMai ZetterlingTanggal rilis 16 Desember 1946 (1946-12-16) Durasi86 menitNegaraSwediaBahasaSwedia Iris and the Lieutenant (bahasa Swedia: Iris och löjtnantshjärta) adalah film drama Swedia tahun 1946 yang disutradarai Alf Sjöberg dan dibintangi Mai Zetterling, Alf Kjellin, dan Åke Claesson.[1] Film ini memenangi Grand Prix di Festival Film Cannes 1946.&#...

 

 

U.S. Army branch charged with financial operations Finance CorpsDistinctive unit insigniaActive16 June 1775 – present[1]Country United States of AmericaBranch United States ArmyMotto(s)To Support and ServeEngagementsAmerican Revolutionary WarAmerican Civil WarWorld War IWorld War IIKorean WarVietnam WarOperation Desert StormOperation Enduring FreedomOperation Iraqi FreedomCommandersCurrentcommanderBG Paige M. JenningsInsigniaBranch InsigniaMilitary unit The United States Army F...

Election 1872 Massachusetts gubernatorial election ← 1871 November 5, 1872 1873 →   Nominee William B. Washburn Francis W. Bird Party Republican Liberal Republican Alliance Democratic Popular vote 133,900 59,626 Percentage 69.10% 30.77% County resultsWashburn:      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Governor before election William B. Washburn Repu...

 

 

ديميتريس بابادوبولوس معلومات شخصية الميلاد 20 أكتوبر 1981 (العمر 42 سنة)جاجارين (أوزبكستان) [الإنجليزية]، جمهورية أوزبكستان الاشتراكية السوفيتية، الاتحاد السوفيتي الطول 1.78 م (5 قدم 10 بوصة) مركز اللعب مهاجم الجنسية أوزبكستاني مسيرة الشباب سنوات فريق 1989–1999 نادي أكراتيت...

 

 

إسفدن اسفدن city الاسم الرسمي Esfeden الإحداثيات 33°38′42″N 59°46′41″E / 33.64500°N 59.77806°E / 33.64500; 59.77806 تقسيم إداري  الدولة  إيران  المحافظة خراسان جنوبي  المقاطعة قائنات  الناحية Central عدد السكان (2006)  المجموع 3٬145  عدد الذكور 1791 (2016)[1]   عدد الإناث 1807 (2...

This article is about the school district of North Lakewood, Washington. For the school district of the city of Lakewood, Washington, see Clover Park School District. Lakewood School DistrictLocationNorth Lakewood, WashingtonSnohomish County United StatesCoordinates48°09′05″N 122°12′30″W / 48.151285°N 122.208251°W / 48.151285; -122.208251District informationTypePublicMottoA Small District Going Big PlacesGradesK–12Established1914SuperintendentScott Peacoc...

 

 

Part of the Politics seriesPolitics of Italy Constitution Constitutional laws Lateran Treaty Head of state President (list) Sergio Mattarella Executive Prime Minister (list) Giorgia Meloni Council of Ministers Current Cabinet Undersecretaries Ministries Legislature Parliament (list) Senate of the Republic Chamber of Deputies Judiciary Constitutional Court Supreme Court of Cassation Court of Assizes Code of Criminal Procedure Constitutional institutions National Council for Economics and Labo...

 

 

Baesa, karya Guillaume Rouillé dalam Promptuarii Iconum Insigniorum Baesa (Ibrani: בַּעְשָׁא, Baʿasha, artinya dia yang menghancurkan; bahasa Inggris: Baasha) adalah raja ke-3 Kerajaan Israel (Samaria) menurut Alkitab Ibrani dan Perjanjian Lama di Alkitab Kristen. Ia membasmi seluruh keturunan Yerobeam I (1 Raja-raja 15:29). Ayahnya bernama Ahia dari suku Isakhar.[1] Ia memerintah 24 tahun di Tirza. Setelah meninggal, anaknya Ela menggantikannya menjadi raja.[2&...

This article is about the Schubert song. For the opera by Zemlinky, see der Zwerg. Portrait of Franz Schubert by Franz Eybl (1827) Der Zwerg (The Dwarf) is a lied (or ballad) for voice and piano by Franz Schubert, written in the mid-1820s on a text by Matthäus von Collin. The poem is in terza rima. In Otto Erich Deutsch's catalogue of Schubert's works, it is Op. 22, No. 1, D. 771. The singer sings in three different voices: the Dwarf, his mistress the Queen (whom the Dwarf strangles with a r...

 

 

American civilian decoration (1942–1952) For the Imperial German decoration colloquially known as the Blue Max and bearing a French-language inscription meaning for merit, see Pour le Mérite. For the Romanian medal, see Medal for Merit (Romania). AwardMedal for MeritObverse and reverse of the Medal for MeritTypeSingle grade decorationAwarded forExceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services during World War IICountry United StatesPresented byPresident of ...

 

 

الإشعاع الشمسي في البرتغال في نهاية عام 2013، وصلت السعة الكلية للطاقة الشمسية في البرتغال إلى حوالي 277.9 ميجاوات[1]، لتصبح السعة التراكمية تقريبا 437 جيجاوات، موفرة بذلك الكهرباء لأكثر من 166500 منزل وموفرة بذلك ما يقرب من 107074 طن من انبعاثات ثاني أكسيد الكربون. كما بلغت نسبة ا...

亨利·詹姆斯Henry JamesOM出生(1843-04-15)1843年4月15日 美国紐約州紐約逝世1916年2月28日(1916歲—02—28)(72歲) 英国倫敦車路士職業作家公民權 美国 英国母校哈佛法學院創作時期1863年–1916年代表作《美國人》《碧廬冤孽(英语:The Turn of the Screw)》《貴婦畫像》《梅西的世界(英语:What Maisie Knew)》《鴿翼》《黛西·米勒》《大使》《波士頓人(英语:The Bostonia...

 

 

2008–09 concert tour by Tina Turner Tina!: 50th Anniversary TourTour by Tina TurnerPromotional poster for the tourAssociated albumTina!Start dateOctober 1, 2008 (2008-10-01)End dateMay 5, 2009 (2009-05-05)Legs2No. of shows37 in North America53 in Europe90 totalAttendance1.2 millionBox office$132.5 million($188.18 million in 2023 dollars)[1]WebsiteTour website (defunct)Tina Turner concert chronology Twenty Four Seven Tour (2000) Tina!: 50th Anniversary T...