Russian police have been arresting those attending the unsanctioned protest (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)
Protests across Russia in support of jailed opposition leader Alexie Navalny. The 44-year-old has been a harsh critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Navalny was arrested less than a week ago after returning to Russia from Germany, where he was recovering from a near-fatal nerve agent attack.
While imprisoned, Navalny’s group released a video showing what is described as a “palace” on the Black Sea that he states was built by rich businessmen for President Putin. The video has been viewed nearly 70-million times and cites corruption in the Russian government. The Kremlin quickly denied these claims.
The protests have occurred across the Russian nation, many braving temperatures as low as -50C to have their voices heard. Moscow’s Pushkin Square was expected to house the largest of the gatherings, with some sources citing over 15-thousand protestors attending. Hundreds have been detained in the nation today, including both protestors and journalists, as well as Navalny’s wife Yulia. The number of those arrested continues to grow many estimating this to have exceeded 1,500. The majority of these arrests occurred in Moscow and St. Petersburg.
The protests began fairly civil, but have escalated throughout the day. Videos have been released of some fairly harsh arrests by police in riot gear armed with batons. Coverage has also revealed many protestors showering police with snowballs. The Moscow demonstration continues to see more individuals arriving.
Protestors have been chanting anti-Putin messages, while inevitable Orwell quotes were also spouted by demonstrators.
Comparisons to the Belarusian demonstrations, which have been ongoing since May of last year, were consistent throughout the day. It is expected tomorrow many arrests will occur, and charges laid.
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