Tens and thousands of citizens took to the streets all across Russia. They are currently demanding the release of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny. The nationwide protest once started in Kremlin, is vocalising against President Vladimir Putin. Despite the Russian authorities’ efforts, to avoid the mob of protestors, tens and thousands of people still rallied all across the country last weekend.
This was the largest and most expansive show of discontent that Russia has witnessed in several years. On Sunday, against the threats of jail penalties, warnings to social media sites, the protest flooded the cities across Russia’s 11 time zones.
On Tuesday in Moscow, the supporters of Navalny called for another protest. However, he is currently set to face a court hearing. And, the verdict of it could lead him to many years in prison.
Navalny is a 44year old anti-corruption investigator and is considered Putin’s biggest critic. He was arrested on 14th of January after returning from Germany, where he was recovering from nerve-agent poisoning. He blamed this poisoning on the Kremlin, though the authorities are denying his accusations. Navalny is arrested for allegedly defying his dislodge conditions for not reporting to law enforcement meetings when he recovered his health. Moreover, the police detained around five thousand peoples of the cities nationwide.
In Russia’s second-largest city St. Petersburg, several thousand people marched, vocalising “Down with the Czar!!”
