Russia’s Reaction to the Events at the US Capitol on January 6

“Limping” Democracy as a “Boomerang” of Color Revolutions: Russian Politicians React to the 2021 Storming of the U.S. Capitol

The whole world observed events unfolding at the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021. Needless to say, Russia was no exception. In the days to follow, pro-Kremlin lawmakers, members of lower and upper house State Duma, were remarkably swift to criticize the United States, questioning the latter’s status quo as a ‘beacon of democracy’ and calling its attempts to spread democratic values around the world hypocritical. For instance, Konstantin Kosachyov, the chair of the Russian upper house’s foreign affairs committee, proclaimed that the happenings of January 6 once again proved that “American democracy is limping on both feet” and that “the U.S. is no longer in a position to dictate the direction and terms of global politics.” Vyacheslav Volodin, speaker of the lower house of parliament, ascribed the events of Capitol Hill to the ‘archaic’ electoral system, maintaining that the U.S. “could learn a thing or two from Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan,” which held their own presidential and parliamentary elections respectively on January 10, 2021. “The boomerang of the color revolutions is turning back on the United States.” – declared Leonid Slutsky, the foreign affairs chief in the lower house, referring to the anti-Kremlin uprisings in Georgia and Ukraine between 2003-2004 and the ongoing anti-Russian resistance in Belarus.

However, and interestingly, other Russian lawmakers used the happenings of January 6 to justify Russia’s domestic policies, namely the Kremlin’s incessant attempts to control social media. Anton Gorelkin from the lower house telecommunications committee commended Twitter and Facebook for suspending Trump’s accounts, asserting that “Social networks must work under strict rules within a legal framework. Because absolute freedom of information is becoming a weapon in the hands of extremists.” By contrast, Russian opposition censured this decision, claiming that such a move would encourage the Kremlin to proceed with suppressing freedom of speech within the country. Alexei Navalny, by far the loudest voice within the opposition, posted on Twitter that the Russian government would promptly employ a similar approach to censor anti-regime thoughts: “Every time when they need to silence someone, they will say: ‘this is just common practice, even Trump got blocked on Twitter,'” Navalny wrote.

While both pro- and anti-Kremlin politicians commented on the storming of the U.S. Capitol and the events that followed, albeit rather differently, the President of the Russian Federation has so far been reticent about revealing his own thoughts with regard to this pivotal moment in U.S. history. In late November 2020, however, Putin criticized the American electoral system, claiming that it was flawed and in an urgent need of change, which did not give Washington the right to search for imperfections in the electoral systems of other countries. Notwithstanding the President’s current silence, it is still possible to decipher his stance with regard to January 6 by having a look at announcements made by Russian public figures closest to his inner political circle. In the week following the seizure of the U.S. Capitol, Maria Zakahrova, Director of the Information and Press Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, echoed Putin’s most recent assessment, highlighting ‘obsolete’ nature of the U.S. electoral system, but also wishing “the amicable American people to live through this dramatic moment in their own history with dignity.” Dmitry Medvedev, former President of the Russian Federation, dedicated a longer and more critical piece to the U.S. elections, sharing Putin’s opinion and arguing that “the world already pays the high price for the unwillingness of the United States to change.”

If Medvedev is right and other countries too have to suffer the consequences of January 6, then what is the price that Russia has to pay? According to Alexander Baunov, Editor in Chief of the Carnegie Moscow Center, Putin now has additional reasons to shun democracy – a vague idea that does not even work properly anymore in the country from which it originated. Therefore, the regime may become far more critical and less receptive to the democratic values that the U.S. seeks to disseminate around the world.

One way or another, we will soon be seeing how events in the post-Capitol world, and Russia specifically, will be unfolding. Until then, you can check out the links below for a more detailed insight into the reaction of the Russian political elite to the January 6 happenings.

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Prepared by Tina Dolbaia

February 8 2021

Recommended readings:

Баунов, А. (2021, January 12). Вычитание Трампа. Россия и США после налета на Конгресс. Carnegie Moscow Center. Retrieved from https://carnegie.ru/commentary/83591

McGlynn J. Dr. (2021, January 11). Was the storming of the Capitol really a ‘gift to Putin’? CAPX. Retrieved from https://capx.co/was-the-storming-of-the-capitol-really-a-gift-to-putin/

References:

Dambach, K. (2021, January 10). Russian dissident Alexei Navalny criticizes Trump Twitter ban. DW. Retrieved from https://www.dw.com/en/russian-dissident-alexei-navalny-criticizes-trump-twitter-ban/a-56183293

Mainville, M. (2021, January 7). Russia Sees U.S. Democracy ‘Limping’ After Capitol Stormed. The Moscow Times. Retrieved from https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2021/01/07/russia-sees-us-democracy-limping-after-capitol-stormed-a72551

McGlynn J. Dr. (2021, January 11). Was the storming of the Capitol really a ‘gift to Putin’? CAPX. Retrieved from https://capx.co/was-the-storming-of-the-capitol-really-a-gift-to-putin/

Russia Intends to Give Election Advice to U.S. (2021, January 15). The Moscow Times. Retrieved January 16, 2021, from https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2021/01/15/russia-intends-to-give-election-advice-to-us-a72628

Косачев считает, что США утратили все права прокладывать курс на демократию (2021, January 7). TASS. Retrieved January 15, 2021, from https://tass.ru/politika/10416299

Медведев, Д. (2021, January 16). Дмитрий Медведев: Америка 2.0. После выборов. TASS. Retrieved from https://tass.ru/opinions/10470467

Филипенок, А. (2021, January 7). Захарова объяснила беспорядки в США архаичной электоральной системой. RBC. Retrieved from https://www.rbc.ru/politics/07/01/2021/5ff70df99a794761a8d26ac2