Letters | 7 January 2012

Russian resolution

Sir: Anne Applebaum (‘Russia’s new dissidents’, 31 December) welcomes the Moscow protestors’ challenge to a smug and venal elite. We can all agree with that. But she asks if they are developing into an opposition — and the simple answer is ‘no’. Alexander Navalny, the Moscow protest leader, cries out against ‘villains and thieves’. He represents genuine resentment at swindlers in power and a desire for a clean-up, but is not an opposition as such. Russia’s ‘opposition’ comprises some decidedly unpleasant trends, from recidivist communists to nationalists who make the BNP look moderate. And who’s to say the ‘middle class’ are a bastion of open democracy anyway? We may wish for transparent elections for Russia, but it’s not clear that the Russians agree. We ought to adjust our expectations accordingly.
Christopher Salmon
Novosibirsk, Siberia

Bring on the bust

Sir: Matthew Parris (31 December) detects in himself a sneaking ‘so what?’ in the face of the coming euro crash and suspects it may be shared by millions.