Protesters across Russia defied orders not to hold unauthorized protests and rallied across Russia amid crackdown on dissidents on Sunday.
Why does it matter: The detention of opposition leader Alexey Navalny has united Russians from various backgrounds, including those opposed to his policy, to protest the authoritarian leadership of President Vladimir Putin, according to the New York Times. They are gathering despite the fact that police arrested thousands of protesters last week.
Policemen revolted at an unauthorized rally in Vladivostok. Sociologist at the Moscow School of Social and Economic Sciences Konstantin Gaaze told the NYT: “Navalny has launched, for the first time, a Russian protest movement against the president.” Photo: Yuri Smityuk / TASS via Getty ImagesA police officer detains a protester during an unauthorized protest in support of Navalny in the Far Eastern city of Yakutsk in the Sakha Republic. Photo: Vadim Skryabin / TASS by Getty ImagesMoscow law enforcement is guarding Chistye Prudy subway station before a planned unauthorized rally. Authorities closed the stations and restricted traffic in the city, the BBC notes. Photo: Natalia Kolesnikova / AFP via Getty ImagesDemonstrators and police officers in Yakutsk, where temperatures reached -39 degrees Fahrenheit. Photo: Vadim Skryabin / TASS by Getty ImageRiot police detain a protester in Novosibirsk. Photo: Kirill Kukhmar TASS via Getty ImagesThe scene in St. Petersburg before an unauthorized rally in the port city. Photo: Alexander Demianchuk / TASS via Getty ImagesPolice detain a protester during an unauthorized protest in Ekaterinburg, in the Ural Mountains. Photo: Donat Sorokin / TASS via Getty ImagesNovosibirsk police detain protesters. Photo: Kirill Kukhmar / TASS via Getty ImagesVladivostok police detain a protester. Photo: Yuri Smityuk / TASS via Getty Images
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Editor’s note: This article has been updated with several photos.
