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Filip Kuznetsov spent an entire night crammed into a police van with 17 other protesters as all detention centers in Moscow were full.
Kuznetsov was among 4,002 people arrested in Russia last week – a record – after large crowds took to the streets for demand the release of opposition politician Alexei Navalny.
Navalny, an anti-corruption activist who fiercely criticizes the Kremlin, was jailed on his recent return to Russia after recovering from an assassination attempt with a nerve agent.
Yes for this Sunday, other demonstrations were called, those who threaten to strain the system further.
“We haven’t slept all night. One person always had to stand, for lack of space, so we took turns, “Kuznetsov told me by phone on Wednesday from the back of the police van, described as” an old vehicle with metal bars everywhere. “
On Monday, a judge sentenced him to 10 days in prison for his participation in the protest. But the police tIt took another two days to find room in the city cells.
As we spoke, her group had been waiting for 5 p.m. outside Moscow’s No.2 Detention Center, fed only by volunteers bringing sandwiches to the van.
Kuznetsov, who owns a small business, is neither a fan nor a follower of Navalny, but he is concerned about the way a fellow citizen has been treated.
“They punish him for nothing, which means anyone could be next, including me “, explain.
Few of the protesters we spoke to in Pushkin Square in Moscow last Saturday mentioned the Navalny poisoning attempt, but everyone was surprised at how his return flight was diverted so that he could be stopped at the border.
The activist was then faced with a strange impromptu hearing at a police station.
A poll suggests that up to 42% of the demonstrators who took part in the Moscow march were protesting for the first time.
And another thing without a recession is that there have also been protests in cities that are generally considered politically “passive”.
“In Moscow, we have the security of the number and of the workplaces in the event of dismissal, but in the regions, it is much more restricted “, explains political scientist Ekaterina Shulman.
“People take more risks,” he emphasizes.
In Vladivostok, Russia’s far east, Navalny’s team say no demonstrations of the magnitude last Saturday were recorded. in over a decade.
Katerina Ostapenko, her local coordinator, was unable to attend because she had been arrested by police the day before.
But Ostapenko says as many as 3,000 people came out, driven in part by Navalny’s latest video revelation: a corruption investigation. who denounced President Vladimir Putin himself.
The video claims that Putin built an opulent secret palace on the Black Sea, complete with an aquatic disco and a pole dance hall.
“I think the people in the regions are much angrier and that’s why so many people protested “, Ostapenko told me.
“They are really angry because they have no money, and now look how much Putin has! And it is our tax money that he paid for his palace,” he explains.
Vladimir Putin has denied any connection with the gigantic ownership of Gelendzhik, calling the film poor editing meant to brainwash people.
However, it has already been viewed on YouTube over 100 million times.
“The number of opinions is staggering,” says Ekaterina Shulman, for whom the scale of the protests reflects growing discontent.
“[Est] the year with the containment measures, the frustration and fatigue accumulated among the population, and continued economic stagnation and declining incomes, ”explains Shulman, who points out that Putin’s confidence rating has been declining since his re-election two years ago.
“We are in a turbulent period,” he sums up.
So, unsurprisingly, the response to Saturday’s protest was hard and fast.
After arresting thousands of protesters that day, imposing fines and ordering short-term arrests, officials are now attacking key allies of Alexei Navalny, including his brother, his doctor and a lawyer from his Foundation. anti Corruption.
Policemen wearing black ski masks, armed with crowbars, raided their Moscow apartments and offices in a criminal case for call a protest in the middle of a pandemic.
It made no difference that the mayor of Moscow had just lifted the curfew on bars and nightclubs, saying Covid-19 was in retreat.
A court on Friday placed the three men under house arrest for two months, with no internet access, as the investigation continues.
Kremlin spokesman denies prosecution has political motivations and he told reporters that law enforcement officers “are just doing their job.”
But with another day of protests to come, authorities clearly want to eliminate the ringleaders.
The crackdown could reduce the number of protesters this weekend: Criminal proceedings were also brought against ordinary protesters on serious charges, including violence against the police and vandalism.
But many have said that not prevent them from going out on the street.
“We share an issue, the way we are governed,” says Danya, a student who was arrested last Saturday with several friends. “We are all protesting against one thing: the alternation of power.”
His friend Kirill says his group stood in silence when the police “jumped on us and started beating us with their batons.”
“I am not a direct supporter of Navalny,” says Kirill, but consider his treatment “illegal”. “So, as citizens of a country we love and want to see improve, we have to protest. “
One person who will certainly not join him is Filip Kuznetsov, who still has several days to serve.
But on Friday, he sent a message saying he and other protesters were being moved “in a hurry.”
“They are making room for the demonstration of the 31”, he told me, before they put him in another police van and take him to a detention center for illegal immigrants 100 kilometers from the city.
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