Questioning State Power at the Red Square
The Red Square is a symbol of Russian political power, and the consolidation of state power at the capital. It lies at the very heart of Moscow, adjacent to the Kremlin – official residence of the President of Russia and central offices of the Russian Government – and the origin of major streets throughout Moscow. Archival documents show that the Kremlin and the Red Square have stood at the centre of Russian historical and political events since the 12th century.(1) It is the location of the iconic St. Basil’s Cathedral, Lenin’s Mausoleum, the State Historic Museum, and the Kazan Cathedral(1) – all buildings that are iconic to Moscow’s identity and representative of its political power.
In alignment with the historical incidents at this location, the Red Square has become a focal point for demonstrators who demand improvements in weighty political issues such as suppression of freedom and prudent elections. Most significantly, on 24 August 2008, protesters held a demonstration under the slogan “For Our Freedom and Yours.” This protest was a response to 2008 Russian interference in Georgia and Southern Ossetia, intended to echo a protest from 1968 against the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia that ended the Prague Spring liberalisation movement: “The participants of the demonstration think that freedom was born in the U.S.S.R. on August 25, 1968, and even 40 years later, in contemporary Russia, this slogan has not lost its timeliness.”(2) Using the Red Square enhanced the protest’s message by allowing a comparison to past protests.
In 2011, a wave of Free Elections demonstrations broke out across Russia in protest to Putin’s re-election. The Muscovite police repeatedly denied protesters requests to the use the Red Square. The police’s reluctance to allow Free Election demonstrations at the Red Square made sense: the government would certainly be sensitive to having dissidents undermine this symbol of central political power. However, on 8 April 2012, Free Election demonstrators were allowed access to the Red Square for the first time(3). The authorities had arrested protesters on the Red Square the prior weekend, and did not explain what motivated them to change their mind. On 8 April, the atmosphere was relatively calm, with police barely interfering. Activist Vitaly Zalomov saw this as surprising and significant: “I feel like I've come to another planet, I do not understand what is happening, this is the Kremlin”(4). Perhaps this incident was the state’s signal that they are not so concerned by Free Elections demonstrations undermining their power.
A third demonstration of significance took place on 10 November 2013. Petr Pavlensky, political artist, sat naked in the Red Square and nailed his scrotum to the cobblestones. In a subsequent statement, Pavlensky explained: “A naked artist, looking at his testicles nailed to the cobblestone is a metaphor of apathy, political indifference, and fatalism of Russian society”(5). Pavlensky’s choice of the Red Square heightened the political significance of his performance art, enabling him to make a powerful statement on Russian society.
Citations
(1) United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation. The World Heritage List. “Kremlin and the Red Square.”
(2) Kishkovsky, Sophie. “Red Square protest echoes 1968.” The Wall Street Journal. 25 Aug 2008.
(3) --. “Moscow Red Square opened to opposition supporters.” BBC Europe. 8 Apr 2012.
(4) Ibid.
(5) --. “Self-harming artist Pavlensky nails his testicles to the Red Square.” NewsRU.10 November 2013.