Russian demonstrations on Jan. 31.
After the massive anti-Putin demonstrations that swept the country on Jan. 23, Jan. 31 and Feb. 2, the Russian opposition began to adjust its strategy.
Flashlights instead of street demonstrations
Volkov, head of Navalny’s headquarters, announced on Feb. 9 that the next protest will be held at 8 p.m. on Feb. 14 across the country. Instead of taking to the streets of city centers and encountering riot police, Volkov said the demonstration would be replaced by people lighting up flashlights in their cell phones and standing in the yards of their residential neighborhoods for more than 10 minutes.
Volkov, who is currently living in exile, said the new idea to change the way demonstrations are conducted came from a code word delivered by opposition leader Navalny in court. Navalny had made a “heart” sign with his hands during a court hearing in Moscow a few days earlier. Volkov said that if one assumes that 100 people are sympathetic and supportive of the demonstrations, but 99 are afraid to take to the streets because people fear arrest, fines, dismissal and other kinds of persecution. But the potential of the protest movement is 100 times more than what can be shown on the surface at the moment, and the main task of the opposition now is to overcome people’s fears and attract more forces to join the demonstrations. Volkov believes that as soon as people remove their fears, Putin will disappear.
Volkov had announced earlier that the street protest demonstrations would be suspended for a period of Time until spring and summer, as the number of participants would not only decrease with the mobilization of people on the streets every week, but with more arrests, the activities of Navalny’s branches around the country would be paralyzed as a result, which would affect the opposition’s preparation for the parliamentary elections in September.
Fall Elections Affect Putin’s Layout to Avoid More Arrests
Many political analysts explain that the opposition’s change of tactics is related to the lack of growth in the number of demonstrations after three consecutive mass protests. In addition, if activists from Navalny’s regional offices across the country continue to be arrested in large numbers, the authorities will immediately blacklist them, thus preventing them from registering for the September election campaign.
The parliamentary elections in the fall are considered a major event in Russian political Life this year, as it will affect the political layout of Putin after his current presidential term ends in 2024. As Putin is getting older, various rumors about his deteriorating health are becoming more frequent. All sides of the Russian political spectrum, including anti-Putin forces, are now gearing up for the election.
Navalny and his supporters have been unable to form and officially register a political party for years due to the authorities’ crackdown. But political scholars believe that after years of hard work, as with many large political parties, Navalny has still managed to set up his network of offices and branches across the country, which has become an important resource for opposition forces. It was during Navalny’s visit to several branches in Siberia last August to prepare for this fall’s parliamentary elections that he was found the opportunity to poison himself and nearly die.
Authorities find new charges against Navalny, who could go to prison for a long time
After a Moscow city court recently sentenced Navalny to two years and eight months in prison, many analysts predict that authorities will not stop there, and that there is a very real possibility that Navalny will remain behind bars for a long time. The court recently re-tried Navalny on a new charge of insulting a World War II veteran.
The incident stems from a World War II veteran who recorded a video last summer to help with official propaganda. The video called for people to go to the polls to support a Kremlin-sponsored campaign to change the constitution. A constitutional amendment would allow Putin to legally continue running for president after his term expires in 2024. Navalny had posted comments on social media denouncing the recording of a similar video as unconscionable and stupid.
Activists arrested through facial recognition
In these last three anti-Putin demonstrations that have swept the country, authorities have used facial recognition technology on a large scale to arrest protesters in major cities such as the capital, Moscow. In recent years, the authorities have installed a large number of cameras in various public places such as streets, squares, shopping centers, and entrances to residential buildings in Moscow. Many activists have been arrested not at the demonstrations but elsewhere.
Yashin, a prominent opposition figure, said on social media that he did not directly join the crowds protesting on the streets of Moscow on Jan. 31, but only watched from nearby. Later, after leaving the scene with another activist, he was stopped and arrested by police halfway through his drive. The police were able to locate them through facial recognition technology. Yashin has now been sentenced to 10 days in jail.
Schuliman, a prominent political scientist, and her husband also went to the Moscow demonstration that day, again standing only on the sidelines. When the two left the protesting crowd and walked into the subway station, police in the station immediately arrested Shuliman’s husband through facial recognition. Shuliman, who is currently a member of the Russian Presidential Human Rights Committee, was at the demonstration as an observer. Police released Shuliman’s husband during the night after the incident was later heavily reported in the media.
Fate of Arrested Persons Under Scrutiny
The human rights group “NKVD-Info” said that about 10,000 people have been arrested nationwide for participating in the demonstrations. At the same time, many places of detention are increasingly under the scrutiny of activists and human rights groups because of overcrowding and poor conditions.
Kriegel, a human rights activist who has been raising money for people arrested for demonstrating and has long been concerned about their fate, said the persecution and repression is getting worse and more people are being held in cells. He said it is important that the arrested feel cared for and that they do not feel abandoned and alone.
The number of political prisoners is skyrocketing,” Kriegel said. The regime probably feels that the moment of collapse is coming, and that’s why it’s stepping up persecution like this. We are now seeing people being convicted and arrested for even retweeting posts on social media, which shows the level of persecution that has been reached.”
Dozens of liberal Russian media outlets recently launched a campaign to express their support for prominent media personality Smirnov. Smirnov is the editor-in-chief of an influential Internet media outlet. Although he did not participate directly in the demonstrations, but merely retweeted comments about sympathy and support for the demonstrations, he was sentenced to 15 days in jail by a court in Moscow 1 day ago.
Some of those who participated in the demonstrations also risked being fired by their employers. A young actress in Moscow was recently removed from her theater because of her participation in the demonstrations.
Some 180 Russian scientists, writers, directors, artists and others issued a joint declaration on Feb. 8 calling on the authorities to stop the totalitarian-era political persecution and release all those arrested.
More than 380 psychoanalysts and psychiatrists also issued an open letter on the same day, calling on the police to stop using violence and psychological repression against protesters, journalists and activists. The letter said that the increasing number of people seeking psychological counseling and treatment out of fear shows that police violence has become unacceptably rampant.
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