The arrest of Russian opposition leader Navalny has been followed by continued anti-government demonstrations in the country, with U.S. Internet technology giants allegedly behind the push. Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday (13) that he would not rule out shutting down foreign Internet services in Russia if the U.S. Internet technology giant takes any more hostile actions against Russia.
Putin said, “I do not want to artificially cut off anything, but I do not rule out doing so when I see some hostile actions, these anti-Russian acts are unacceptable.” He also pointed out that many domestic Internet services have good prospects, such as the search engine Yandex and online financial services Sherbank, these alternatives can prove that the market is not monopolized by foreign networks.
Given that thousands of people have been arrested in demonstrations over the past few weeks, Navalny allies have announced a moratorium on street actions, but they still launched a candlelight rally on Sunday (14), hoping to take advantage of a brief 15-minute gathering outside their houses on Valentine’s Day night, with cell phone torches on and candles arranged in the shape of hearts, in solidarity with the imprisoned Navalny. The Kremlin has warned that arrests may be made.
In addition, Russia on Saturday announced economic sanctions against nine Ukrainian companies, including those in the shipbuilding, freight and metallurgical industries. However, the Kremlin did not say why these companies were targeted.
Recent Comments