Opposition politician, co-chairman of democracy movement Solidarity
“It is tragic that the next generation is lost to our struggle. I naively thought that our children would be more freedom-loving than us, but that is not the way it turned out. Surveys show that it is young people under 25 who are the most loyal to the regime. This is a generation that grew up watching Putin’s TV networks; it is deeply cynical and pragmatic. This is mostly a generation of kleptocrats and parasites looking to buy patronage and protection. They dream of getting close to the state budget, to live and steal more easily. Organizations like Nashi [Putin’s youth wing] are built on a myth of upward social mobility: acting like a spineless lackey is supposedly a guarantee of material success. Young people will do anything to make money and have a career, but they are not ready to join a fight, if they do not know when they can collect their winnings.”