Alexey Navalny speaks via a video link to a Moscow regional court on January 28th.
Photographer: Alexander Nemenov / AFP / Getty Images
Photographer: Alexander Nemenov / AFP / Getty Images
Imprisoned opposition leader Alexey Navalny is stepping up his battle with President Vladimir Putin, calling for further massive protests this weekend as the Russian leader’s popularity falls.
Putin’s confidence rating fell to 53%, according to a poll conducted by the Public Opinion Foundation from January 22 to 24, on the eve of the day tens of thousands of Russians gathered in cities across the country to demand the release of Navalny. It was the lowest the Foundation, which works frequently for the Kremlin, reported since it began asking the question on this form in 2013, according to its website.
“Tens of millions of people who have been robbed by the authorities cannot be frightened,” Navalny told a Moscow region court on Thursday via a video link from the prison where he has been detained for 30 years. days. “I’m glad to see that more and more people are seeing that the law and the truth are on our side and that we are the majority.”
Authorities are already warning against participating in Sunday’s protests and most of Navalny’s aides who were not in jail were picked up this week, facing a series of criminal charges. Still, they are concerned about the magnitude of the demonstrations and are looking for ways to cool the popular discontent that has been boiling amid falling revenues and coronavirus restrictions, three people close to the government said.
Crowds gather to support Alexey Navalny during a rally in Moscow on January 23.
Photographer: Andrey Rudakov / Bloomberg
“An avalanche”
“Navalny started an avalanche,” said Evgeny Gontmakher, a prominent Russian economist. “People were no longer satisfied with the drop in their income and the pandemic.”
The 68-year-old Russian leader has been in power for more than two decades, the longest government since Soviet dictator Josef Stalin. In July, Putin pushed for constitutional changes that would allow him to remain president until 2036. His support last year fell to a record low in the midst of the closure of Covid-19, but he recovered somewhat in November, according to the Levada Center. He has survived several previous waves of anti-Kremlin protests, constantly tightening restrictions on public demonstrations.
Thinner wallets
Russian incomes have fallen again since the Covid-19 fell
Source: Federal Statistics Service of Russia
Navalny, 44, was arrested Jan. 17 on his way home from Germany, where he recovered from a near-fatal poisoning by a nerve agent he and the West blamed on Putin’s secret service. His imprisonment drew Western demands for his immediate release, including an appeal this week in a phone call from U.S. President Joe Biden.
Alexei Navalny is escorted out of a police station in Khimki, outside Moscow, on January 18.
Photographer: Alexander Nemenov / AFP / Getty Images
After years largely ignoring the anti-graft activist in public, the Kremlin has begun trying to refute his allegations. Earlier this week, Putin denounced the protests as “dangerous” and dismissed the claims in a video posted by Navalny owning a $ 1.3 billion giant Black Sea mansion. The clip has over 100 million views.
Putin, the poison and importance of Alexey Navalny: QuickTake
On Wednesday afternoon, police arrested Navalny’s brother, Oleg, and two allies, Lyubov Sobol and Anastasia Vasilyeva, for 48 hours on suspicion of violating anti-Covid restrictions 19. On Friday, prosecutors asked a court to Moscow to arrest them at home.
They also opened a criminal case for absence against one of the main aides of the opposition leader, Leonid Volkov, alleging that he encouraged the minors to take part in the unapproved protests. Volkov, who is now out of Russia, denied the allegations. The opposition leader himself is accused of violating parole under a suspended sentence while recovering from the August attack on Germany. He faces a 3-and-a-half-year prison sentence in a Feb. 2 hearing.
Appeal of the call?
Putin’s popularity has plummeted
Source: Center Levada
The government’s harsh response reflects concern that the protests are much more widespread than in the past, said Natalia Zubarevich, head of regional studies at the Independent Institute for Social Policy in Moscow. Still, he expects them to fade as the previous ones have been. “They’ll blow and get tired of it,” he said.
Pavel Malyi, a prominent investment banker who was among the protesters in Moscow a week ago, said the feeling of injustice is galvanizing people. “Basic rights need to be respected,” he said. “I want to be able to look my kids in the eye.”
Riot police arrest a supporter of Alexey Navalny during a rally in Moscow on January 23.
Photographer: Andrey Rudakov / Bloomberg
Navalny’s challenge has fueled the tensions of the political elite. Although a person close to the Kremlin said authorities should act to reduce social tensions, another official said there is pressure for a hard line that will only aggravate dissatisfaction and strengthen the appeal of Navalny.
Polls ordered by the Kremlin show growing recognition and support for Navalny, especially among young people, according to a person familiar with the numbers, who are not public.
Navalny’s ally, Volkov, said Thursday’s resolution keeping him in prison showed Putin’s opponents had no choice but to continue protesting. “The street must have the last word, there is no other way,” he said on Twitter.
– With the assistance of Ilya Arkhipov, Irina Reznik, Anna Andrianova and Jake Rudnitsky