Yesterday’s flashlight rally was one of the most unusual actions we’ve ever held. And, it seems, the most peaceful of all. It was also astonishing in its reach. Of course, people came out in the big cities—that was expected. But we received a huge number of photos of people with flashlights from all kinds of places.
Of course, the propagandists will be frothing at the mouth with their usual “look, no one came out, there were no people.” But no one has paid attention to them for a long time—they howl like this after rallies of 2,000 people and after rallies of 200,000 alike.
But what these corrupt TV hosts will definitely keep quiet about is that the action was as peaceful as possible. There was no violence, no arrests, no detentions. Otherwise, they would have had to station a security officer in every courtyard. The source of violence at protest actions in Russia is always the police. And when there is no OMON (Russia’s riot police), everything remains completely calm. The February 14 action matters if only because it proved this fact once again.
And what about turnout? That question has long become the standard metric, the main measure of every protest action. Obviously, this time it is impossible to say exactly how many people came out. But for those who love numbers, here are a few: — more than 10,000 photos and videos of the action were sent to our Telegram bot from across Russia; — more than 11,000 Instagram posts about the action, not counting Stories; — more than 37,000 posts on Twitter with the hashtag #LoveIsStrongerThanFear. But even these impressive figures are nothing compared with this:
Let’s remember why we hold protest actions in the first place. It’s not just about the numbers. Although turnout is, of course, very important, because the Kremlin pays attention to it (and therefore reacts to it). But for us, people and their stories come first. What matters is the coming together of very different personalities, views, and life circumstances. A coming together against evil and corruption, against people clutching power with lifeless fingers.
Yesterday we heard many stories of a single person going out into the courtyard with a flashlight, not really expecting to meet any like-minded people. And then a second person would come down, then a third, while others shone their lights from the windows.
That is the whole point. One person lights a spark, and others help turn it into a flame.
The February 14 action brought many people important discoveries. People saw that they can find allies even in the most unexpected places. Our point has been fully proven: supporters of a Russia without repression, corruption, lawlessness, and Putin live everywhere. And statistically, the explanation is simple: they are the majority.
Thank you to everyone who took part. Hold on to hope and try to find like-minded people. There are more of them than it seems!
Thank you to everyone who took part and offered support! #LoveIsStrongerThanFear
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