Russia’s TikTok Generation Is Putin’s Achilles’ Heel

On Feb. 3, an influx of young Russians flooded my Instagram inbox and followers list. Yulia Navalnaya, the wife of imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, had just reposted my recent Instagram story: a photo of Navalny in court, holding up his hands to form the shape of a heart, which had made the cover of The Wall Street Journal.

My family emigrated from Russia to the U.S. in the 1990s, when I was 13 years old, but I couldn’t recall meeting Russian teenagers and young people quite like them before: an entire generation who grew up under Putin’s reign. Across their social media pages on Instagram and TikTok, they come across as purposeful, bold and creative. They made political videos on TikTok and Instagram. Some of them identified as feminists, vegan activists, dancers, musicians, and aspiring lawyers. They seemed to march to the beat of a different drum, sharing a set of universal values that differed from that of their parents and grandparents. It was like they were visitors from another planet.

When Navalny flew back to Moscow on Jan. 17 and was swiftly detained, his team was able to mobilize thousands of people in cities across Russia’s 11 time zones. After the Russian court sentenced Navalny to two and a half years’ imprisonment, his supporters continued to protest in the streets. Videos shared on social media showed teenagers tearing up Putin’s portraits in schools and replacing them with photos of Navalny.

On Feb. 14, Valentine’s Day, Navalny’s team held a campaign they called “Love Is Stronger than Fear,” inspired by Navalny’s gesture to his wife in court. “We’re calling on all residents of the big Russian cities to do one some simple thing on February 14, 8pm,” Navalny’s team wrote. “Go outside and turn on the flash on your phone, lift it up and stand there for a few minutes.”

On Sunday, there were several protests, mainly in Moscow and St. Petersburg where a few hundred women gathered in solidarity with Navalny’s wife Yulia, according to AFP. Separately, “tens of thousands” of people answered Navalny’s call for the Valentine’s Day campaign, braving winter temperatures and going outside with flashlights for symbolic vigils in “hundreds of courtyards” across the country, according to estimates from Navalny’s team.

This time, the turnout was smaller and more peaceful, without the violent clashes with police and mass detentions that characterized the pro-Navalny protests last month. Instead, the government’s response moved behind the scenes, focusing on pressuring social media platforms and taking measures against those who imply they are even thinking about taking to the streets. Immediately after the Valentine’s Day events, there were reports of retaliation against those who participated in the campaign, including a COVID-19 nurse, Saidanvar Sulaimonov, who was fired after participating in the “Love Is Stronger than Fear” campaign and taking a picture of himself indoors wearing protective equipment, Meduza reported.

Even before Sunday’s events, many young people expressed skepticism about the long-term impact of this new wave of protests. Aram Badalyam, a 25-year-old…