Russia's truckers protest

http://mondediplo.com/2016/06/05russiatrucks
Date Written:  2016-06-01
Publisher:  Le Monde diplomatique
Year Published:  2016
Resource Type:  Article
Cx Number:  CX21924

Russian government leniency towards protesting truckers indicates that the country's social crisis could overshadow its noisy diplomacy.

Abstract: 
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Excerpt:

A dozen HGVs were parked in front of a shopping centre in Moscow's northwestern suburb of Khimki, in early March. Some had signs on their windscreens: "Price rises: the tax on lorry drivers affects everyone", "They are robbing truck drivers and pensioners". I had to climb on a stack of pallets to reach the trailer that served as the camp's headquarters. Inside were a table, a stove where sausages were grilling, a printer and a ventilation system that made the steel box vibrate from time to time. It was 7pm, and the conversation tailed off. Two bored-looking policemen stood a few metres away. The Khimki "camp', and its counterpart in St Petersburg, bring together drivers who still refuse to give up the struggle, the last remnants of a social movement that affected dozens of Russian regions last winter. According to the website of the Centre for Social and Labour Rights, an NGO that publishes a bimonthly report on social conflicts in Russia, "there have been no labour disputes on this scale, in terms of number of participants and regions affected, since 1998."