Moscow police arrested more than 600 demonstrators on Saturday as people protested Russian election officials’ decision to ban opposition candidates from running in looming elections.
Protesters had gathered for weeks before Saturday’s violent crackdown as civil unrest across Russia spiked amid an economic crisis in the country that has seen many residents struggle under poor living conditions.
President Vladimir Putin has also seen his approval ratings plummet in recent months.
Opposition leader Alexei Navalny organized the demonstration outside City Hall, and protesters called for election officials to allow opposition candidates to run in September’s Moscow State Duma elections.
Another video from today’s pro-democracy #protest in #Moscow, #Russia: pic.twitter.com/fzIzbxOX40
— Alex Kokcharov (@AlexKokcharov) July 27, 2019
Navalny was arrested on Wednesday before the protests began and was sentenced to 30 days in jail. Several opposing politicians to the Kremlin were also detained and brought in for questioning.
Election officials barred several candidates from competing in the upcoming elections for allegedly “failing to collect the necessary number of signatures from voters to qualify for the ballot,” according to the Moscow Times. The candidates denied those claims.
Government officers have attempted to quell any opposition to the Kremlin by conducting widespread crackdowns.
Moscow police said that approximately 3,500 people attended Saturday’s protest, but the Moscow Times said that number was hard to judge because so many activists were arrested or barred from approaching City Hall.
Another video from central #Moscow, #Russia, where police used disproportionate force to disperse and detain peaceful #protest|ers today. Nearly 700 people detained during today’s protests: pic.twitter.com/7SRJPwnQLe
— Alex Kokcharov (@AlexKokcharov) July 27, 2019
140 people already arrested at protest in #Moscow , according to monitors. The protest only formally started 25mins ago. pic.twitter.com/ARFLQnf8yx
— Patrick Reevell (@Reevellp) July 27, 2019
OVD-Info, an independent scanner that records data from police sectors, reported that 638 people were detained on Saturday.
The police reportedly sprayed protesters with an unknown chemical, and one woman was seen bleeding after being struck in the head with a nightstick.
