Navalny’s Trade Unions between Socioeconomic and Political Demands

Abstract

Abstract The article examines Alexei Navalny’s trade unions that emerged in 2018-2019 and ceased their activities in 2021-2022. These unions were supposed to contribute to the development of Navalny’s movement and the integration of labor protests into the political movement. The article considers Navalny’s unions as an attempt to unify socioeconomic and political demands and addresses factors hindering this unification. The article utilizes Ernesto Laclau’s theory of populism with some modifications. While Laclau’s works usually neglect organizational issues and repertoires of protest, this analysis also focuses on organizational structures and repertoires of Navalny’s unions. The article demonstrates that Navalny’s unions became servicing organizations which cannot be conducive to populism. Repression, the servicing model of organizations, the ability of the existing political system to satisfy some social demands from below and the adherence of trade unions and employees to repertoires of complaint-making, hindered the development of Navalny’s trade unions and populism in Russia.