Russia arrests hundreds as crackdown on Navalny allies continues
Police ramp up pressure on opposition with arrests and criminal probes as Navalny allies gather for new protests.
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31 Jan 2021
Russian police detained more than 260 protesters on Sunday as activists took to the streets across the country demanding the release of jailed Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny.
The first protests took place in the Far East, including the port city of Vladivostok where several dozen protesters gathered in the city’s central square despite police closing it off ahead of the rally.
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“The desire to live footage from Vladivostok showed dozens of protesters escaping the police on the frozen waters of the Amur Bay and circle dancing.
Videos posted online showed demonstrators being hauled into buses by police. The mostly young people were seen dancing and chanting: “Putin is a thief,” and “Freedom for Russia.”
According to independent monitors, at least 260 people were detained in more than a dozen cities before the expected start of the rally in Moscow, which usually mobilises the largest crowds.
Despite authorities ramping up pressure on the opposition with arrests, Navalny aides called for new nationwide demonstrations ahead of the opposition leader’s trial set to start on Tuesday.
In an unprecedented move police in the capital announced the closure of seven metro stations and said movement of pedestrians would be limited in the city centre.
Near-fatal poisoning
Navalny, 44, was arrested on January 17 after flying back to Russia from Germany, where he had spent five months recovering from nerve-agent poisoning. His detention sparked nationwide protests in about 100 cities last week. Nearly 4,000 people were reported arrested.
Sunday’s Moscow rally will take place outside the headquarters of the Federal Security Service, Russia’s main security agency, which Navalny said carried out the near-fatal poisoning attack on the orders of President Vladimir Putin. The Kremlin denies the allegation.
In an unprecedented move, police in the capital announced the closure of seven metro stations and said movement of pedestrians would be limited in the city centre.
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