Is there people power in Russia?

LAST weekend, scores of protests erupted across Russia. Thousands of marchers were out in the streets of Moscow and 90 other cities such as St Petersburg and Vladivostok to demonstrate against corruption and demand the resignation of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. The marches were the largest since a wave of anti-Kremlin demonstrations in 2011 and 2012, and come a year before a presidential election which Vladimir Putin is expected to contest, running for what would be a fourth term.

Popular demonstrations can lead to the collapse of authoritarian rule, as exemplified by those that brought down Middle East and North African regimes during the 2011 Arab Spring, and the ones that led to the ouster of presidents Marcos in the Philippines and Suharto in Indonesia. However, certain protests like those in Tiananmen Square in 1989 and Myanmar's Saffron movement in 2007 have also failed to dislodge governments.

If the Russian demonstrations persist, will they succeed? What are the critical aspects to watch for in the months ahead?