Petition for Kadyrov’s resignation becomes a marker of dissent

The popularity of the petition for the resignation of Ramzan Kadyrov significantly exceeds the popularity of the petitions for the resignation of Vladimir Putin and other well-known politicians, the “Caucasian Knot” analyzes. The petition will not lead to the resignation of Ramzan Kadyrov, but it can convey a message to the Kremlin about the presence of dissent in Russia, sociologist Alexei Levinson believes.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Ilya Yashin, a Moscow oppositional politician, has launched the above petition for Kadyrov's resignation. The petition addressed to President Putin was posted on the “Change.org’ website on February 6. By 6:30 p.m. on February 17, the petition gained 219,649 signatures

Earlier, petitions for the resignation of Russian politicians of various levels have been posted on the “Change.Org” website. So, since 2017 to the present, according to the search results, at least 39 petitions for the resignation of Russian President Vladimir Putin have been posted there. The petition “To remove President of Russia Vladimir Putin from his post, with loss of confidence”, posted on July 21, 2020, gained the greatest support and gained 102,593 signatures.

According to Alexei Levinson, the head of the socio-cultural research department at the Levada Centre, the Ilya Yashin’s campaign to gather signatures for the Ramzan Kadyrov’s resignation can only be recognized as successful if Ramzan Kadyrov is dismissed. “But, in my opinion, there is very little hope for that. Even if Ramzan Kadyrov were to fall out of favour with Vladimir Putin, the Russian President does not do what his opponents demand of him,” Alexei Levinson told the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent.

“The role of such petitions is to show the authorities the presence of opponents. This is the task of the opposition at present. The opposition does not suggest that it can change the nature of the government now. But it can show that it is alive,” Alexei Levinson said.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on February 17, 2022 at 06:50 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.