ABSTRACT
This chapter examines Siberia's toy protest as encapsulating key elements of a new stage in the development of civil society in Russia, characterised by creative forms of resistance, including the return of humour and satire to politics after a long absence, the turn to activism by younger, more prosperous citizens who had come of age during the presidency of Dmitrii Medvedev and the expansion of activism beyond specific issues or causes to include the articulation of broader, more overtly political demands on the state and its officials. The toy protest in Barnaul would appear to be an entertaining, whimsical but ultimately ephemeral episode in the 2011-12 winter of protests, with little importance beyond the fleeting amusement that it sparked as an overnight media and internet sensation, although it did inspire activists to organize their own nano-meetings in other Russian cities, including Irkutsk, Kazan, St Petersburg, Omsk, and Tomsk.
