Russia: new day of protests at the call of Russian opponent Navalny
Russian police arrest a protester against the imprisonment of opponent Alexei Navalny, in Vladivostok on January 31, 2021. AP - Aleksander Khitrov
Text by: RFI Follow
3 min
Once again, they brave the cold and police repression.
The supporters of Alexeî Navalny are gathering this Sunday, January 31 across Russia.
Like last week, they will demand the release of the Russian opponent arrested ten days ago on his return from Germany.
They increasingly denounce corruption at the top of the state.
Rallies are planned throughout the day, but some have already started, especially in Siberia.
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With our correspondent in Moscow,
Daniel Vallot
The rallies started in the easternmost part of the country.
In Vladivostok, for example, the demonstrators dispersed by the police decided to finally meet on the icy waters bordering the city.
It must be said that these gatherings in the Far East and in Siberia are made by freezing temperatures, -30 to -40 degrees in places.
This is what struck observers last week: the unprecedented number of cities in Russia where the demonstrations took place - in places where never since the end of the USSR no one had mobilized except to local causes.
We are now awaiting mobilization in the big cities of the West, in Saint Petersburg and Moscow.
In the Russian capital, the city center has been completely cordoned off by the police.
The police presence is all the more important as the demonstrators meet in front of a highly symbolic and strategic place: on Lubyanka Square, in front of the FSB headquarters, the Russian security services.
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To read also: New revelations towards FSB agents suspected of being involved in the Navalny affair
Intimidation
Before this day, the authorities did everything to intimidate supporters of Navalny.
Intimidations that first target the entourage of the opponent, with around twenty searches and numerous arrests made during the week.
Several opposition figures, relatives of Alexeï Navalny are being prosecuted for having launched calls to demonstrate despite restrictions linked to the coronavirus, and they have been placed under house arrest.
The Russian authorities have warned: they will be very firm towards those who go to demonstrate, the gatherings being considered illegal.
Scores of arrests are to be expected - there were 4,000 in total last week.
And they have already started this Sunday: the NGO OVD Iinfo counted this Sunday morning a hundred arrests, half of which in Vladivostok.
For the authorities, it is clearly a question of discouraging the Russians, of breaking the mobilization that was born last week and that the supporters of Navalny would like to install over time.
“
Do not be afraid
, declared Alexeï Navalny in a letter written from his prison and published on the Internet.
The majority is on our side, go wake her up.
"
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To read also: In the News: Navalny challenges Putin
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Russia
Human rights
Alexei Navalny
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