The award for the best explanation of why protesting truck drivers should be blocked on the roads goes to the authorities of the Vologda Region:
A very good explanation—they missed just one thing: they forgot to mention the Banderites (a derogatory reference to Ukrainian nationalists). Banderites always work especially well in cases like this.
Honestly, looking at the scale of the operation and the forces deployed to stop convoys of truck drivers from reaching Moscow, it starts to seem that more money will be spent on this than this very "Platon" toll system will collect for "road repairs."
I am surprised to see pessimistic comments along the lines of, "the truck drivers failed to organize," or "they got scared and gave up the protest."
My friends, the truck drivers are, in essence, reviving the trade union movement in Russia, which was destroyed decades ago. Even Soviet trade unions were not really trade unions, and what now passes for "independent unions" are merely the Kremlin's little servants, useful only for helping to crush grassroots labor leaders as they emerge.
It is naive to assume that a large nationwide protest will somehow organize itself and win on its own.
Keep in mind, too, how vulnerable truck drivers are to coercive pressure by the authorities. Not only can they simply be stopped at a traffic police checkpoint and prevented from going anywhere, but the protesters themselves also risk losing their licenses and their vehicles. Finding a pretext to revoke a license or impound cargo is ridiculously easy.
So there is no need to compare a protester walking to a rally with a truck driver traveling 1,000 km (about 620 miles) to such a rally in a vehicle for which he is still making lease payments.
In our country, any independent action requires courage, so people should not be reproached—they should be helped. Above all, with informational support and moral support.
Why are the authorities completely hushing up the truck drivers' protests instead of trying to discredit them with false TV reports, as usual? Because this protest truly has broad popular support, and the anger behind it is directed at Putin's inner circle. Any word spoken about it only worsens the Kremlin's position and helps the truck drivers.
Our legal aid headquarters for truck drivers is still operating, and moreover, we can see that from a formal legal standpoint, "Platon" is outright illegal. That is why we will soon be going to court as well, demanding that it be abolished.
P.S. As expected, presidential envoy Kholmanskikh got scared of talking to the truck drivers and blocked off access to his residence.