Hundreds of activists have been arrested after they took to the streets of Russia to protest the detention of anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny.
Among 1,300 people who were allegedly arrested in various cities on Saturday was Navalny’s wife, Yulia Navalnaya, who was detained near one of the protests in Moscow, according to CNN.
Navalny, a 44-year-old activist and one of Putin’s most prominent critics, spent months recovering in Germany after being poisoned with a Soviet government-produced nerve agent while traveling over the summer. Russian intelligence operatives are suspected of orchestrating the attack. After regaining consciousness, Navalny promised to return to Russia — although, when he did, he was immediately arrested, sparking outrage among dissidents.
Saturday’s protesters, who braved sub-zero temperatures in some Siberian cities, demanded that Navalny and other political prisoners be released. In Moscow, demonstrators reportedly chanted, “Putin is a thief! Freedom to Navalny!” Video sourced from social media showed large throngs of people.
People are now spreading around the city center, being pushed off Pushkinskaya, the main site of the rally. pic.twitter.com/I3dgZ4f4wV
— Ivan Nechepurenko (@INechepurenko) January 23, 2021
Police crackdown is underway in pro-Navalny protest in St. Petersburg pic.twitter.com/TGdRVEgC5q
— Ragıp Soylu (@ragipsoylu) January 23, 2021
A view of Navalny’s protest crowd in Moscow, via @bazabazon pic.twitter.com/wopFSWiRFr
— Kevin Rothrock (@KevinRothrock) January 23, 2021
Police officers in Moscow donned riot gear and were seen swinging their batons and detaining people near Pushkin Square even before the start of the demonstration. Vasily Zimin, a 47-year-old Moscow-based lawyer, told the New York Times that he came to protest because of the corruption he sees in the government.
“The cup is full,” he said. “How can you say, ‘I can’t take anymore of this’ while sitting on your couch?”
The United States became roped into Saturday’s demonstrations after it posted an advisory about the protests and included the locations and times for protests in a dozen cities, warning U.S. citizens to steer clear from those areas. The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs bashed the move in a Friday statement.
“All that coincides with Washington’s provocative doctrinal guidelines to encourage ‘protests in the countries with unwanted governments,’” the Foreign Ministry said. “Any attempts of this ‘coverage’ of unauthorized rallies will be regarded as gross interference in our country’s domestic affairs and will lead to a corresponding response.”
The Washington Examiner has reached out to the State Department for comment.
Officials within the Biden administration have called for Navalny’s immediate release, and the matter could have an impact on how U.S. foreign policy toward Russia progresses in the early days of the administration.
