Protesters rally in support of arrested Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in Moscow, Russia January 31, 2021.
Mass nationwide anti-Putin popular demonstrations erupted again in Russia for the second consecutive day of rest. During the January 31 demonstrations, people also demanded the release of opposition leader Navalny. Downtown areas of major cities, including the capital Moscow, were heavily policed and blocked off that day, as persecution by authorities intensified.
People take to the streets again across Russia from east to west to demand Putin’s ouster
The massive anti-Putin demonstrations that have swept Russia since January 23 show no sign of stopping, and on Sunday, January 31, Russians once again took to the streets to demand Putin’s ouster. The Anti-Corruption Foundation, led by opposition leader Navalny, which called for the demonstrations, said people took to the streets in more than 140 Russian cities that day.
Because of the Time difference, protests were already underway on the Kamchatka Peninsula in eastern Russia, near Japan, and in the Sakhalin region, while it was still late at night in the European part of the country and in Moscow, the capital. In Vladivostok (Vladivostok), a major city in the Far East near China, more than 100 protesters were arrested by police. In Zabaikalsky Krai, which borders China, large numbers of military and police officers took firm control of the city center in Chita, the capital, to prevent people from gathering. Local social media blogger Plyushin said Lenin Square and Revolution Square in central Chita were cordoned off. Residents passing by were required to show identification and were registered.
In the major local cities of Siberia, including Krasnoyarsk, Tomsk, Omsk, Novosibirsk and Yekaterinburg, large numbers of people are still breaking through police blockades and marching. According to Russian political scientist Snegovaya, who follows the situation, the demonstrations that started on January 23 and swept the country again after 10 years are more widespread than the massive nationwide anti-Putin demonstrations in 2011 and 2012, and can be called the most widespread and regional protests in more than 30 years since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
One of the features of the January 31 demonstrations, compared to the January 23 demonstrations, was a significant increase in the number of local people, especially in Siberia, said Vinitetov, a well-known media personality and current affairs commentator. However, there was a subtle change in the slogans and demands of the demonstrations, that is, the opposition leader Navalny was downplayed and the demonstrators were more insistent on calling for Putin’s ouster and the release of political prisoners, and more calls for change and freedom in Russian society.
Other slogans at the January 31 demonstration were similar to the previous one, including: “Putin is a thief,” “Fight to the Tsar,” and “Free Navalny,” among others.
Navalny became the trigger for demonstrations, and the grass is always greener
Opposition leader Navalny was suspected of being poisoned by Putin’s Secret Police during a trip to Siberia last summer, with the poison coming from an internationally banned chemical weapons agent. Navalny was rescued by chance and treated in Germany. After recovering, he insisted on returning Home despite repeated warnings from Putin’s authorities. He was arrested at the airport immediately after his return to Moscow in mid-January. The poisoning of Navalny not only attracted widespread international attention, but also shocked Russian society, and his arrest thus became the trigger for the nationwide anti-Putin demonstrations.
Many political analysts also noted that the Russian military and police underestimated the size and number of participants when they responded to the demonstrations on Jan. 23. Putin’s authorities therefore made careful preparations for the January 31 demonstrations in advance. The city centers of many major cities were closed for the day.
In St. Petersburg, the area around the Hermitage’s Ermitage Museum, familiar to many visitors, and many locations along Neva Street in the city center up to the Moscow train station were blocked off by a wall of military police wearing helmets and holding batons, as well as by various vehicles and iron fences. In the capital Moscow, a large area of the city center around Red Square, seven nearby metro stations, many buses, many local restaurants and bars, including the “State Department Store”, “Central Department Store”, “Children’s World” and other stores popular with Chinese tourists. “Children’s World” and other stores were all closed. Military police and various specialized police vehicles were present in the area, and they arrested people as soon as they saw them gathering.
Some Russian media sources said that the city center of Moscow was almost closed, and that this was the first time in almost 80 years since Hitler’s German army came to Moscow in World War II that the city was so overrun with soldiers.
Persecution and Repression Escalate
After Jan. 23, the authorities escalated various crackdowns on activists. Navalny’s own home and those of his relatives were searched. His brother and many other supporters were arrested. On the eve of Sunday’s demonstrations, many journalists and activists were warned by the authorities. The day before Sunday’s demonstrations, the editor-in-chief of a prominent Moscow Internet media outlet pushed a stroller to take his children for an evening walk, but he was arrested by police waiting outside as soon as he got down the stairs.
Activist Davigis said that everyone is feeling more and more pressure because of their political stance, or the growing number of people arrested for participating in various activities, and political prisoners.
Davigis: “The authorities keep stepping up their efforts to crack down on the political opposition in the country. The current situation is that many people are forced to flee and go into exile, but there are still many people who have decided to stay and who are at risk of persecution.”
The human rights group NKVD-Info said the Jan. 23 demonstrations resulted in more than 4,000 arrests across Russia. During the January 31 demonstrations, more than 4,000 arrests had been made in 85 cities across the country by the end of the day. The number of arrests continues to climb, and the number of arrests at Sunday’s demonstrations is likely to be the highest in the history of Russian demonstrations.
Activist Dadaevigis said that some human rights organizations are trying to provide help to the persecuted and try to make them feel that they are not alone. In addition, despite limited resources, assistance is being provided to the families of the persecuted and arrested as much as possible.
Social media, including “Shake”, “TELEGRAM” and others, have played a significant role in these recent protests. Almost all major social media outlets are currently under pressure from the Russian authorities. Russian regulators and prosecutors have either interviewed social media leaders and representatives or issued statements warning of fines to be imposed on social media. Authorities have threatened to punish these social media outlets if they do not remove posts perceived to be encouraging people to attend illegal rallies.
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