Biden-Putin clash… The Kremlin “Protests for the release of Navalni, inspires beauty”

Police and protesters clash at the release rally for Alexey Navalni in Moscow on the 23rd (local time). [로이터=연합뉴스]

On the 23rd (local time), the aftermath of the protests against the detention of Alexei Navalni, the’Putin political party’ across Russia, is spreading outside Russia.

The US State Department condemned Russia in an official statement, and the Kremlin was condemned as “the United States encouraged protests.” There are even signs of diplomatic friction between the newly launched Joe Biden administration and Russia.

According to the Russian state-run Tas News Agency, spokesman Dmitry Peskov Kremlin Palace appeared on the Russian state broadcast on the 24th (local time) and said, “People who make the so-called’revelation’ against President Vladimir Putin want to continue to stir up flattery in Russia. “It will not happen,” he said. “This unauthorized demonstration was clearly illegal.” He also said, “very few people participated in the rallies, and many voted for Putin.”

According to the British Daily Guardian, at least 3,500 people were arrested by the police in the protests calling for Navalni’s release on Saturday. At least 1167 people were arrested in the capital Moscow alone. The Russian Ministry of Interior estimated that 4,000 people attended the demonstration, but Western media such as the New York Times (NYT) and Reuters reported that 109 cities and 40,000 people attended the demonstration.

Among those detained were politicians such as Rev Scholesberg of Pskov in northwest Russia, and Navalni’s wife Julia. Julia was later released.

In a protest on the 23rd (local time), a woman (right) wears a mask of President Vladimir Putin and carries the phrase “I’m scared of Navalni.” [AFP=연합뉴스]

Russian correspondent Emily Sherwin of Germany’s Deutsche Belle (DW) said that thousands of citizens in Moscow marched from the center of Pushkin Square to the Kremlin, calling out “Here we are in power” with Navalni’s release. Videos of violent suppression of protesters are spreading on social network services (SNS), including scenes of police trampling a woman. On the other hand, Russian media reported that four criminal investigations were initiated on charges of “aggressive protesters” injuring Russian police officers.

In a statement on the 23rd in a statement by State Department spokesman Ned Price on the armed conflict between protesters and police, “the United States strongly criticizes the harsh suppression of protesters and journalists across Russia.” The State Department also called for the immediate and unconditional release of the opposition member Navalni and the release of all detained personnel. “The Russian government fully cooperated with the international community’s investigation into Navalni’s poisoning case, “I have to explain about the use of chemical weapons at work.

Alexey Navalni (center) and his wife Yulia, former representatives of the Russian opposition Progressive Party, return to Russia after treatment for the poisonous substance’Nobichok’ in Germany on the 17th (local time). Navalni was detained again after returning to Korea. [AP=연합뉴스]

Indeed, the Russian government has pointed out Western countries such as the United States as the’behind’ of the protests. He said the post posted by the US embassy in Moscow the day before the protests (22nd) actually fueled the protests. The US embassy said in its “protest warning” notice that “a day later, protests are scheduled across Russia by opposition activists, and US citizens should avoid being involved in these protests.”

This can usually be seen as a notice for embassies to protect their own citizens, and the Russian side is taking it as a problem, saying, “The protest information is too detailed.”

Russian President Vladmir Putin. [로이터=연합뉴스]

In a previous interview, Kremlin spokesman Peskov warned, “Some of the false posts (of the US embassy) are obvious interferences in the Russian internal affairs.” “If this continues, something uncomfortable will happen to Washington.” The Russian Embassy in the Republic of Korea went one step further and posted a tweet on its official account saying, “This protest is a professionally prepared provocation” and “a protest encouraged by the US embassy in Moscow and the embassies of Western countries”.

On the other hand, Western media point out that Russia is blaming outsiders for the cause of the protests while ignoring the accumulated complaints of the people. The NYT analyzed that “although the protests will not immediately shake Putin’s power, the widespread participation of Russian citizens has revealed fatigue from stagnant and corrupt political order for the 20 years of Putin’s regime.” DW reported that not only Navalni supporters but also citizens critical of the government were added to the protests.

The European Union (EU) parliament earlier passed a resolution tightening sanctions against senior Russian officials involved in the repression of Navalni, who had exposed Putin’s corruption.

US President Joe Biden. [AP=연합뉴스]

With this incident, the United States and Russia again entered a state of tight tension. President Putin is one of the world’s latest to send congratulatory messages to Biden-elect last year. Last December, after the electoral vote ended, I sent a congratulation to Biden, saying, “I’m ready to cooperate with you.”

In an exclusive interview with CNN, US White House security adviser Jake Sullivan previously pointed out that, as an urgent security task after the inauguration of the Biden government, the extension of the New START agreement, a new strategic arms reduction agreement with Russia, was an urgent security task. White House spokesman Jen Saki said at a briefing on the 22nd (local time), “President Biden hopes to extend the agreement with Russia by five years, and I think this decision is more appropriate especially when the relationship between Russia and the US is hostile as it is now. “I do.”

Reporter Lee Yoo-jung [email protected]