Gennady Gudkov member of political party A Just Russia
Opposition to Putin
In March 2004, following a weak performance by the People's Party in the recent legislative elections, Gudkov succeeded Gennady Raikov as chairman of the party. Gudkov later became a member of Putin's United Russia party, before switching in 2007 to the populist A Just Russia party, many of whose members opposed Putin. In September of that year, he criticized a bill supported by United Russia allowing Gazprom, Transneft, and other corporations to train and arm private security forces, calling it a Pandora's box. In October, he complained that United Russia "will not allow opponents" and that Russia was becoming a one-party state, and in December 2008, he sought to amend and clarify a Duma bill greatly expanding the definition of treason. In March 2009, he criticized legislation by Dmitry Medvedev to ban political parties with less than a 7% nationwide vote from parliament, saying that "only an incorrigible optimist could consider that a pro-democracy move".In October 2011, Gudkov said that due to lack of free debate, "a huge negative energy among the public ready to explode any moment". He aligned himself with the "swamp opposition" (Russian: "болотных оппозиционеров"), which held anti-Putin sentiments. The following month, he broke ranks with his party's moderate criticism of Putin and warned that major street protests could result if United Russia committed electoral fraud in the impending election. In the speech, Gudkov stated that "our elections are a mix of abuse of administrative resources and work going ahead at full speed to ensure falsification". Footage of the speech became a popular video on Russian blogs.Over the next year, Gudkov became a frequent participant and leader in public protests against Putin. In January 2012, a secret recording of a conversation between Gudkov and politician Vladimir Ryzhkov was released in which the two appeared to discuss how to undermine other anti-Putin forces; the two called it a plot to sow distrust between opposition groups. In June, Gudkov's son Dmitry Gudkov, also a Duma deputy, led a filibuster against a bill allowing large fines for anti-government protesters. Gennady Gudkov also spoke against the bill, stating that by removing outlets for protest, the legislation was putting Russia on "a sure path to a civil war". The Economist described the filibuster as "the most striking act of parliamentary defiance in the Putin era".Following Gudkov's opposition, his private security firm, Oskord, became the target of "a campaign of raids and investigations from a variety of bodies, from the fire department to the Moscow architectural committee". Permission for its guards to carry firearms was revoked, making its usual security operations difficult. Gudkov estimated in July that he had lost 40% of his business.
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