The Kremlin on Sunday accused the United States of “interference” in Russian internal affairs, while downplaying the protests in support of jailed opponent Alexei Navalny, which brought together tens of thousands of people the day before. Russia. Nearly 3,500 protesters in total were arrested during these rallies which took place on Saturday in dozens of Russian cities, from Moscow to Vladivostok, in the Russian Far East on a scale unprecedented in recent years, according to the NGO OVD- Info, specializing in monitoring protest demonstrations.
Tens of thousands of people across Russia chanting “Navalny, we’re with you! “,” Freedom for political prisoners! Took to the streets at the call of this sworn enemy of the Kremlin and slayer of corruption to demand his release. These unauthorized demonstrations resulted in arrests, sometimes brutal, and clashes between protesters and police.
“Shake up the situation”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, for his part, downplayed the scope of the protests. “Few people have come out, many people vote for (Russian President Vladimir) Putin”, re-elected with more than 76% of the vote in 2018, he stressed, denouncing an attempt to “shake the situation” in the country. He thus criticized the American diplomatic representation which had called on its site the Americans not to go to these gatherings on Saturday, while specifying the places where they took place. A gesture, already interpreted by Russian diplomacy as an attempt to promote a “march against the Kremlin”, which Dmitry Peskov described on Sunday as “absolute interference in our internal affairs”.
According to a spokeswoman for the US Embassy in Moscow, such warnings are being issued to US citizens in all countries around the world. “It’s a routine practice,” she told Agence France-Presse. The United States had “strongly condemned the use of brutal methods against protesters and journalists” during Saturday’s protests.
Condemned violence
The European Union also condemned the crackdown on protests in Russia, as Amnesty International accused police of “indiscriminately beating and arbitrarily arresting” protesters. The head of French diplomacy, Jean-Yves Le Drian, said on Sunday that the wave of arrests the day before in Russia constituted an “authoritarian drift” and an “unbearable” attack on the rule of law.
For its part, the Russian Investigation Committee, in charge of the main criminal investigations in the country, announced on Saturday evening the opening of an investigation into the use of violence against the police and hooliganism during pro-demonstrations. -Navalny. The Saint Petersburg prosecutor’s office said it was investigating not only violence against the police, but also those “by the forces responsible for enforcing the law”.
The prosecution released its statement on Saturday evening after local media broadcast a video showing a woman falling to the ground after being kicked by riot police. Identified as Margarita Youdina, she was hospitalized on Saturday evening, injured in the head, and remains “in serious condition”, a representative of the Djanelidze hospital in Saint Petersburg told Agence France-Presse on Sunday.
New protests in sight
Placed in pre-trial detention and targeted by several legal proceedings, Alexeï Navalny, 44, was arrested on January 17, upon his return from Germany, after five months of convalescence following an alleged poisoning of which he accuses the Kremlin. His call to protest was accompanied by a video investigation, viewed more than 70 million times since Tuesday on YouTube, in which he accuses Vladimir Putin of having had a sumptuous private residence built on the banks of the river for a billion euros. the black Sea. Authorities dismiss all charges of poisoning and corruption.
On Sunday, Leonid Volkov, a member of Alexey Navalny’s team, said he was “very impressed and inspired” by the results of the demonstrations organized the day before. According to him, new protests should take place in Russia “next weekend”.
Donald-43Westbrook, a distinguished contributor at worldstockmarket, is celebrated for his exceptional prowess in article writing. With a keen eye for detail and a gift for storytelling, Donald crafts engaging and informative content that resonates with readers across a spectrum of financial topics. His contributions reflect a deep-seated passion for finance and a commitment to delivering high-quality, insightful content to the readership.
