With a certain frequency, Roman Dobrokhotov is mentioned in the materials of the Russian media. Who is this man? What does he do and thanks to what actions he gained fame?
This article will be about a public and political figure, an active Russian opposition leader, an inspirer of the sensational movements “Going Without Putin” and “We” and a member of “Solidarity”. In addition, in the political biography of Dobrokhotov there is the party “December 5”. The name of the young oppositionist was widely known thanks to the scandalous public skirmish with former President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev, the arrest and some other events.
Childhood and youth
Roman Alexandrovich Dobrokhotov is a native Muscovite. He was born in the then capital of the USSR on August 6, 1983. He was brought up in an intelligent family. Roman's father is a professor at Moscow State University, philosopher and culturologist Alexander Lvovich Dobrokhotov.
The boy received secondary education at the Lyceum "Vorobyovy Gory" (school number 1525). Having received a certificate, he entered the Moscow State Institute of International Relations at the Faculty of Political Science, which he successfully graduated in 2006. And then violent social activity began.
“Going without Putin” and “We”
Dobrokhotov took part in opposition actions, while still a student. In February 2005, he took over the leadership of the Moscow wing of the “Going Without Putin” movement, whose participants were mostly young people who supported revolutionary events in neighboring Ukraine and Georgia. The organization was born in St. Petersburg as opposed to the pro-government “Going Together”, who, on the contrary, were campaigning for President Putin. The goal of their activity was for young oppositionists to see, at a minimum, the struggle for benefits and deferrals for draftees, and at the very least - the “orange” revolution in the Russian Federation and regime change in the country through early presidential elections.
When in the same 2005, the opponents of Dobrokhotov and Co. changed their name to Ours, the movement We appeared. In fact, it was renamed "Going Without Putin." Roman Alexandrovich headed this organization, which actively collaborated with like-minded people from Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. Oppositionists dreamed of a powerful “fist” of the united democratic movements in the post-Soviet space and did a lot in this direction.
Roman Dobrokhotov and his team repeatedly took part in various protests held in the form of flash mobs, performances, etc., for which they were often detained by law enforcement officers and subjected to administrative penalties until the arrests. In 2007-2008, “We” actively supported the “March of Dissent”.
Skirmish with Medvedev
The resonant incident that brought Dobrokhotov wide publicity was his public skirmish with Dmitry Medvedev, who at that time held the post of President of the Russian Federation. The event took place in December 2008 in the Kremlin, where a solemn event was held in honor of the fifteenth anniversary of the Russian Constitution. Roman Dobrokhotov, who was in the hall, interrupted Medvedev's speech, saying loudly that he considered the amendments to the fundamental law shameful. It was about extending the terms of office of the President (up to 6 years) and State Duma deputies (up to 5).
The activist was immediately taken out of the hall by the guards, holding his mouth, although Dmitry Anatolyevich asked not to touch the young man.
On the same day, Dobrokhotov was fired from the Moscow Says radio station, where at that time he worked as a freelance presenter. The official reason was the reduction, but Roman Alexandrovich himself linked his dismissal to the Kremlin scandal.
Arrest
Less than a month after a skirmish with the President, Roman Dobrokhotov received another reason to become famous. In January 2009, he went to a single picket to the Government House with his mouth sealed with adhesive tape, holding a blank sheet of paper in his hands. The young man managed to stand so only a couple of minutes when he was detained by the police. The oppositionist was sentenced to five days of arrest, accusing him of “defiant behavior”, as well as “unreasonable public swearing”. True, the court later quashed the verdict, but the case received wide publicity, and Dobrokhotov became even more popular among his like-minded people.
"Solidarity" and the attempt to run for
Since March 2009, the Solidarity movement appears in the biography of Dobrokhotov, of which he became a member of the Moscow political council.
Almost immediately, the activist began ideological confrontation with another member of the organization, Vladimir Milov, who was one of the leaders. Dobrokhotov accused the opponent of excessive passivity of Solidarity in terms of protests. The same, in turn, offered to work more constructively than to rally.
Later, the opposition Solidarity movement was divided into “right” and “left”. The former argued for fair economic competition in the state, while the latter defended the rights of the poor. Roman Alexandrovich referred to himself as “right-wing liberals”.
In the summer of 2009, Dobrokhotov publicly announced his intention to run for Solidarity as a member of the Moscow City Duma. Participants in the movement supported him by collecting signatures. But the latter, according to the election commission, was not enough, so the potential candidate was not registered.
By the way, this was not the first attempt of Dobrokhotov to become a deputy. In 2007, he “swung” at the State Duma, planning to move forward from “Other Russia”. Then, too, everything ended with nothing. The election commission did not allow the Other Russia to race because it was not officially registered.
New party “December 5”
On December 4, 2011, parliamentary elections were held in Russia, and the next day a new party appeared. It was called December 5th, and Dobrokhotov became one of the co-founders.
After 2 years, the political force supported Alexei Navalny, who claims to be the main chair of Moscow, and a little later - the participants of the Ukrainian Euromaidan. Twice in the same 2013, they tried to officially register the party, but both times to no avail. The Ministry of Justice refused.
Political Views of Dobrokhotov
Roman Dobrokhotov professes liberal views in politics and believes that constitutional rights and freedoms of a citizen and a person are above all. He is categorically against xenophobia in all its forms and manifestations. Repeatedly showed public concern about cases of incitement to national hatred in Russia.
Dobrokhotov calls Vladimir Bukovsky (one of the leaders of Soviet dissidents) his authority on ideology. He does not support people who believe that the USSR should have been preserved at all costs (including by force), and allows the separation of some regions of Russia, if required by democratic processes.
Career
In parallel with social and political activities, Dobrokhotov is trying to build a career.
Immediately after receiving his diploma, he got a job in the newspaper Novye Izvestia, where he served as a reviewer and deputy editor. The subjects of his articles dealt mainly with international political and cultural events. As a representative of Novye Izvestia, Dobrokhotov was in Georgia during her military conflict with Russia.
Roman Aleksandrovich combined his work in the newspaper with conducting the “Face-to-face” program at “Says Moscow”, as well as with his postgraduate studies at the Higher School of Economics.
In 2009, Dobrokhotov was an employee of Radio Liberty. And from 2010 to 2013, he edited the online edition of Slon.ru, until he was fired along with part of the team.
Since 2010, he has been working as a teacher at the State Academic University of the Humanities, reading the world economy and political science.
Constantly collaborates with various online publications, where he publishes his articles. He is the chief editor of one of these portals called Insider.
