Inès Zeghloul // Photo credit: Selman Aksunger / ANADOLU / Anadolu via AFP 6:52 p.m., February 17, 2024, modified at 6:56 p.m., February 17, 2024
The day after the death of Alexeï Navalny, supporters of the main opponent of Vladimir Putin wanted to pay tribute to him. A complicated tribute in Russia, where the authorities had warned residents against any unauthorized demonstration. But rallies also took place around the world.
Dozens of people defied the ban. In Moscow, supporters of Alexeï Navalny, almost instinctively, came to calmly and silently lay flowers around a memorial to the victims of Soviet repression, opposite the headquarters of the FSB, the Russian intelligence service. .
231 arrests in Russia
A symbol therefore and a particularly guarded tribute. Russian authorities had warned Russians against any unauthorized demonstrations. Result, more than 15 arrests in the capital, heavy-handed arrests. Some videos show men and women pushed to the ground, their heads in the snow, unceremoniously by masked police officers. And throughout the territory, large and small towns alike, it's the same scenario, the same repression. The NGO OVD-info reports a total of 231 arrests, mainly in Saint Petersburg, in the northwest of Russia.
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Death of Alexeï Navalny: the end of 13 years of opposition to Vladimir Putin
A wave of international indignation. In France, in Paris or Strasbourg, the streets are lined with bouquets and candles are lit. This is also the case in Berlin, Washington, but also in Budapest. “Peace for Ukraine, freedom for Russia, Putin is a murderer” have been chanting thousands of demonstrators all over the world since yesterday. Portraits of the deceased, with a hard look, are also held up. An eternal face of the Russian opposition.