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| On the 31st (local time) in Moscow, protesters demanding the release of Russian opposition activist Alexey Navalni are being arrested by the police. © AFP=News1 © News1 Reporter Dongmyeong Woo |
On the 31st, amid protests in anti-Putin calling for the release of the opposition leader Alexei Navalni, one of President Vlydimir Putin’s most static, over 1000 protesters were arrested by authorities.
◇ “Putin is a thief” throughout Russia: On Sunday, the 31st of the month, hundreds of protesters gathered from various regions, including Moscow, the Russian capital, and screamed “Putin is a thief,” and held a “Ban Putin” protest.
Protests were also held in Vladivostok in the Far East and Novosibirsk in Siberia. In particular, in Yakutsk, Siberia, dozens of protesters gathered despite the extreme cold of -42 degrees Celsius.
Even in Tomsk, Siberia, where Navalni visited before his loss of consciousness due to poisoning, protesters were spotted waving Russian flags and shouting slogans, “Free Navalni.”
On this day, the most crowded area was Moscow, where hundreds of protesters gathered from around 12:00 noon (local time). Previously, Moscow police concentrated hundreds of police officers in the center of the city to control the movement of citizens and to neutralize the protests, such as closing seven subway stations, but failed to prevent protesters from gathering.
A protester who requested anonymity said, “This is the first time I have been to a protest,” and said, “I am sick of the complete lawlessness of the authorities.”
Russian human rights monitoring organization OVD-Info announced that a total of 1,09 people, including 142 people, have been detained in Moscow alone. Navalni’s wife Julia was also detained in Moscow that day.
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| On the 23rd (local time) in Moscow, the police are clashing with protesters calling for the release of opposition activist Alexey Navalni. © AFP=News1 © News1 Reporter Dongmyeong Woo |
◇ Massive arrests for the last protests… Increased tension: This is not the first time a protest has been called for Navalni’s release. Earlier, on the 23rd and 24th, demonstrations were held simultaneously in about 120 cities in Russia, including Moscow.
At the time of the last protest, up to 40,000 people gathered in Moscow alone, and about 10,000 protesters also appeared on the streets in St. Petersburg.
According to OVD-Info, at least 3521 people were arrested in the last protests, including 1398 in Moscow and 526 in St. Petersburg.
Even though thousands of people have been arrested, the protests do not know how to stop. It is an analysis that the feelings of fatigue and anger toward President Putin, who have been in power since 2008, were expressed through the public beating Navalni by the authorities.
This protest in Russia was triggered by the fact that Navalni, who was treated in a German hospital after falling due to symptoms of poisoning in August last year, was arrested by authorities after returning to Korea on the 17th of this month.
Navalni, a former lawyer, has been involved in accusing Putin’s various allegations of corruption and corruption since the late 2000s, and in particular, during the Russian general election in December 2011, led an anti-government protest over allegations of unfair elections, and became the subject of attention of the regime. to be.
Navalni collapsed on a Russian domestic aircraft in August last year, showing symptoms of poison, and was transferred to Germany to receive treatment, recover consciousness, and undergo rehabilitation treatment. The Russian authorities immediately arrested Navalni, who returned home after treatment.
The reason for the arrest of Navalni by the Russian authorities this time is that they did not comply with their obligations, such as having to regularly appear at an investigative agency during the probation period following the 2014 ruling. However, supporters of Navalni argue that it is only’political retaliation’.
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| US Secretary of State Tony Blincoln held his first press briefing at the Washington State Department on the 27th (local time), stating that “there are issues that the two countries can cooperate while competing, saying that the US and China are the most important relationship.” © AFP=News1 © News1 Reporter Dongmyeong Woo |
◇ Blincoln’s U.S. state secretary criticizes Russian authorities: US Secretary of State Tony Blincoln has condemned Russian authorities for the tough crackdown of the protests.
Secretary Blincoln wrote on an official Twitter account on the 31st, “The United States condemns the Russian authorities for their harsh actions against peace protesters and journalists for the second consecutive week.”
“We urge once again that Russia free people, including Navalni, who have been detained for exercising their human rights,” he added.
The U.S. State Department strongly condemned the hard crackdown by Russian authorities in a statement in the name of spokesman Ned Price, even during the protests on the 23rd.
Minister Blincoln’s direct message this time can be interpreted as raising the level of criticism.