EFE Latam Videos
Navalni supporters are holding Putin’s pulse in a new wave of protests
Moscow, January 31 (EFE). – Supporters of Alexei Navalni today held the pulse of President Vladimir Putin with protests across Russia demanding the release of the opposition leader and expressing outrage at the economic and social situation in the country, and she did so amidst the repression and arrest of more than 4,400 people. “I came to defend my rights and the rights of political prisoners. This is important to me and I think it should be important for everyone,” said student Sofía, a student who took part in the protest in Moscow along with thousands of other citizens. . The marches in support of Navalni took place in more than 140 cities, from Vladivostok in the Far East to Novosibirsk in Siberia, Yekaterinburg in the Urals, St. Petersburg on the Baltic Sea or the center of power in Moscow. And that’s despite the fact that thousands of police officers across the country were deployed to prevent the images from being repeated on the 23rd, when more than 110,000 people attended the opposition leader’s first call to challenge the Kremlin. In Moscow, security forces prevented protesters from entering Lubyanka Square, where the Federal Security Service (FSB, former KGB) is located, so they turned to the police every time to other parts of the city. In St. Petersburg, it was impossible to reach the central Nevsky Avenue and citizens had to congregate near the Youth Theater, Sennaya Square and the Legislative Assembly. ALL SECURITY MEASURES EXAMPLE All attempts by the Russian authorities to block access to muster points with gates, police fences and the closure of metro stations were in vain as tens of thousands of Russians returned to protest. And it is that the outrage over the Navalni case has added to the discomfort of many Russians because of the poor economic and social situation in the country, where real income fell by 3.5% in 2020 and where 19.6 million people are under the subsistence life. Meanwhile, in a video published by Navalni – which has already been viewed more than 104 million times – they must see a lavish palace on the shores of the Black Sea that supposedly belongs to Putin and which the adversary considers the “ greatest bribe in the history’. Therefore, it was not uncommon today in Moscow to see women with toilet brushes in hand, referring to the 700 euros that would be in the palace, or to hear ‘aquatic disco’ shouting at a luxurious fountain with lights and music playing in the courtyard of the complex. USE OF POWER AND MASS DETENTIONS Last Sunday, despite the peaceful nature of the protests, there were again scenes of excessive violence arrests across the country. Several people were injured. According to the OVD Info portal, which is monitoring the arrests, more than 4,400 people were arrested across the country, more than 1,400 of whom were held in Moscow and nearly 1,000 in St. Petersburg. There, riot police used pepper spray and electric shocks, as well as their batons to beat and arrest peaceful protesters, according to independent website Meduza. Among those detained in Moscow was Navalni’s wife, Yulia Navalnaya, who had been arrested a week earlier and marched with other protesters to the Moscow Matrósskaya Tishiná prison, where her husband is imprisoned. ‘One for everyone and all for one. Let it go, liberty, ”those who did manage to approach the prison in columns shouted shortly before the police started blocking their way and arrested them. “Putin to Jail” and “Russia Will Be Free”, “Freedom For Alexei Navalni” or “Let Him Go” were some of the most popular slogans. DECISIVE JUDICIAL OPINION The person considered to be Putin’s worst enemy is in preventive prison after being arrested on his return to Russia from Germany, where he was recovering from the poisoning he contracted in 2020 and for which he became the Russian president blame. Navalni is accused of failing during his recovery in Germany for not fulfilling the conditions of probation he enjoyed under a 3.5-year suspended sentence imposed on him in 2014 by the European Human Rights Court. A hearing will be held next Tuesday to determine whether Navalni should remain in prison to serve the 3.5-year suspended sentence, a decision that will determine his political future several months before the parliamentary elections are held in September. The opposition leader wants to take advantage of the inconvenience of many Russians and the fact that Putin’s popularity has fallen by 53% support to its lowest level in a year to mobilize voters against the ruling party, United Russia. Céline Aemisegger (c) EFE agency