Anti-Kremlin protesters fill Russian streets, Putin critic Navalny detained

[Amica Nostra 4,803]

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-opposition-protests-idUSKBN192167

 

Baton-wielding riot police broke up anti-corruption protests and detained hundreds of demonstrators in Moscow and other Russian cities on Monday soon after arresting opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

The protests, called by Navalny, a strong critic of Russian President Vladmir Putin, drew thousands of people and were some of the biggest in Russia since 2012.

"Russia without Putin" and "Russia will be free" chanted the demonstrators, including many young people, who crowded into central Moscow on a public holiday.

Navalny, who is mounting a long-shot bid to unseat Putin in an election next year, had called for mass protests in Moscow and other cities against official corruption.

The Kremlin has dismissed Navalny's graft allegations, accusing him of irresponsibly trying to whip up unrest.

The scale of Monday's protests in Moscow and smaller ones in St. Petersburg and scores of other cities suggests Navalny has maintained his campaign's momentum despite more than 1,000 people being arrested after the last such protest in March.

That is likely to embolden him to call for more protests and keep Putin, who is expected to run for and win re-election next year, under rare domestic pressure.

"Neither mass detentions nor criminal cases after March 26 (the last protest) worked," wrote Lyubov Sobol, a Navalny ally, on social media. "People are not afraid."

The OVD-Info monitoring group, a non-profit organization said preliminary figures showed 730 people had been detained in Moscow. The Interior Ministry said 500 people were detained in St Petersburg.

Navalny's wife, Yulia, said her husband had been detained as he tried to leave their home. Reuters witnesses saw a police car leaving his apartment compound at high speed, followed a few minutes later by a minibus carrying about 10 policemen.

[TBoneTX 45,284]

Let's meddle in their election.

[Dashinka 24,493]

3 hours ago, TBoneTX said:

Let's meddle in their election.

We probably do, or at least try.

[Amica Nostra 4,803]

4 hours ago, TBoneTX said:

Let's meddle in their election.

 

1 hour ago, Bill & Katya said:

We probably do, or at least try.

How do you get there from this article?  I just think we are seeing incredible bravery.  You only need to follow the trail of bodies around Putin to realize that this is risky business. 

[Dashinka 24,493]

1 minute ago, ccneat said:

 

How do you get there from this article?  I just think we are seeing incredible bravery.  You only need to follow the trail of bodies around Putin to realize that this is risky business. 

It is bravery, and no one said otherwise.  As to body counts, we see that a lot all over the world.

[CaliCat 3,957]

8 hours ago, TBoneTX said:

Let's meddle in their election.

 

 

I'm all for it. It's payback time.