Protests calling for the release of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who was arrested in Russia this month, are scheduled to take place on the 31st, following last week, and tensions between supporters and the administration are rising again.
Mr. Navalny, a leader of opposition forces who have repeatedly criticized Russia's President Vladimir Putin, is believed to have been attacked by chemical weapons nerve agents last year and was guilty of the past shortly after returning from Germany this month. He was arrested for violating the ruling.
In response, Mr. Navalny called for his release, saying it was an "unjust arrest," and supporters called for a second protest on the 31st.
In the first protests on the 23rd of this month, supporters clashed with security forces across Russia, detaining a total of more than 4,000 human rights groups.
The administration is poised to crack down on the 31st, and in the capital Moscow, it will close seven subway stations near the square where the rally is scheduled and will ban traffic in the vicinity.
The square is in front of the headquarters of the FSB (Federal Security Service), a Russian security agency that Navalny claims to have been involved in his assault, and tensions are rising again between Navalny's supporters and the Putin administration. I will.
Controversy over the president's "palace"
Prior to the second protest, there is controversy in Russia over what is believed to be Putin's "palace," which Navalny's research team released a video this month.
Mr. Navalny said that the building was built on the Black Sea coast in southern Russia at a cost of about 140 billion yen in Japanese yen, and that the construction cost was borne by wealthy people close to the president, "it is the largest bribe in the world." It has been criticized and has received a great deal of attention, with videos being viewed more than 100 million times so far.
On the 25th, Putin denied that "none of my property is owned by me or my relatives."
In addition, state television reported on the 29th that the building is a luxury hotel under construction and that it is owned by a company unrelated to President Putin, and on the 30th, Internet media close to the Putin administration said, "The hotel I'm the one who runs it, "he said.
However, as the businessman is known as President Putin's longtime judo companion and a wealthy man who leads a major construction company close to the administration, Navalny's supporters have raised further opposition.