A week ago, large demonstrations took place all over Russia, from Novosibirsk to Saint Petersburg.
The aim was to protest the Russian government and the denial of activist Alexei Navalny after his return from less than six months in Germany.
On Sunday, Navalny’s team called for more demonstrations in the country, and thousands of people are expected to participate again.
Before the demonstrations, several people associated with Nafalni were arrested. Navalny’s brother Oleg, attorney Lyubov Sobol and Busi Reut activist Maria Alyukhina, among others, were reportedly placed under house arrest until March 23, according to reports. Al Jazeera.
According to the accusations, they violated the crown’s restrictions by urging people to participate in the protests. But regime critics say the measures are more related to increasing pressure on the Russian opposition to intimidate protesters.
Thousands were arrested last week
Last week, more than 4,000 people were arrested during the protests. One of them writes Philip Kuznetsov, a small business owner who will be arrested for ten days BBC.
Philip Kuznetsov is not a big fan of Navalny, but he says he is upset at the idea that he was arrested for no reason.
– They punish him for nothing, which means that anyone can be next in line. Even I, Philip Kuznetsov said.
Navalny’s message from prison
In a statement issued by the detention center on Thursday, Navalny called on his supporters for more demonstrations.
They are the last obstacle to those in power so that they can steal almost everything. You will not be able to frighten us. “We are in the majority,” said Matroskaya Tashina from the detention center.
Alexei Navalny is in custody on suspicion of involvement in a serious fraud. He is also said to have violated the terms of his parole.