DISINFO: Provocations and protests organised by Western structures in Russia ended in failure
SUMMARY
Provocations and protests organised by Western structures at the beginning of the year, with the aim of undermining Russians' confidence in Vladimir Putin, ended in failure and did not significantly affect the situation in the country.
RESPONSE
This message is consistent with pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives that protests, disorders and civil uprisings are never manifestations of popular discontent but are "colour revolutions" directed and funded by Western intelligence services or other Western actors in order to destabilise targeted foreign states and bring about regime change. The West is presented as an aggressive actor constantly preparing new coups and colour revolutions in post-Soviet states or in Russia itself.
The 2021 Russian protests referred to in the claim began on 23 January 2021 in support of the arrested opposition leader Alexei Navalny and as a reaction to the investigation Putin's Palace. The rallies, from Russia’s Far East to central Moscow, came less than a week after Navalny returned from Germany, where he recovered from a nerve agent poisoning in August during a trip to Siberia. Navalny was arrested shortly after stepping off the plane. More than 3,300 people were arrested in protests spanning nearly 70 cities and towns across Russia.
See similar stories that Western-sponsored unauthorised protesters acted in a monstrous way against anyone who opposed them, that Western special services will help the opponents of Russia to escalate the violence, and that The West supports the unofficial Russian opposition.