Page 17 - bne_newspaper_February_02_2018

Eastern Europe
February 2, 2018 www.intellinews.com I Page 17
Opposition activist Navalny arrested as thousands protest ahead of Russian presidential elections Ben Aris in Berlin
Anti-corruption blogger and opposition activ-
ist Alexei Navalny was arrested by riot police on January 28 as he walked to join nationwide pro- tests against the upcoming presidential elections. Thousands of ordinary Russians braved icy winter temperatures and possible arrest to attend small anti-election rallies across the country. Some of the protests had been officially sanctioned but most had not.
The largest protests in Moscow and St Petersburg were not sanctioned and buses of riot police had been sent into the cities to control the crowds.
Navalny played cat and mouse with police ahead of the rally in Moscow that started at 2pm local time. Police surrounded his home and raided his offices in central Moscow in an effort to shut down Navalny’s live online broadcasting of the protests from round the country. However, they couldn't find the opposition activist himself, who responded to a police request by giving President Vladimir Putin’s official residential address.
Once Navalny appeared on the streets of Moscow to make his way to the rally he was quickly spotted and bundled into a police bus by riot police.
“I’ve been detained. It means nothing,” Navalny tweeted from the bus, urging people to go to the protests anyway.
The crowds were relatively small, with only a few hundred turning up in some cities before being dispersed by the authorities. In Moscow journal- ists on the scene estimated the crowd to be 1,000
Navalny was arrested as he walked to join nationwide protests against the upcoming presidential elections.
people strong. But the fact of the protests will unsettle the Kremlin.
Navalny applied to stand in the elections slated for March 18, but was disbarred by the Central Election Committee on the grounds that he has a criminal conviction, though his supporters claim this was politically motivated.
Even if he were allowed to run, Navalny only en- joys 2% support in the polls against Putin’s 80% popularity rating. Nevertheless, Navalny spent the summer touring the country and has touched a nerve with regular Russians who are unhappy with the falling standard of living since the collapse of oil prices in 2014.
While other polls show the propensity to protest remains low — a result borne out by the relatively small crowds on the street over the weekend — the pressure on Putin is growing as he has failed to maintain the prosperity that is the bedrock of his support.
Protestor carried signs saying “This is not an election,” and “We won’t vote for anyone”. Navalny has called for a boycott of the elections, which is what the authorities fear most as a low turnout would undermine Putin’s legitimacy.
The fact that Navalny’s rallies in the regions, and now in the capital, have gone ahead despite the lack of permission, and the fact that the authorities have held the police back, represent victories for the op- position and a weakening of the authorities’ grip.