Alexey Navalny speaks via video at a regional court in Moscow on January 28.
Photographer: Alexander Nemenov / AFP / Getty Images
Photographer: Alexander Nemenov / AFP / Getty Images
Closed opposition leader Alexey Navalny is stepping up his battle with President Vladimir Putin, calling for new mass protests this weekend as the Russian leader’s popularity plummets.
Putin’s confidence rating fell to 53 percent, according to a January 22-24 poll on the day tens of thousands of Russians gathered in cities across the country demanding release. to Navalny. This was the lowest reported by the Foundation, which has been operating frequently for the Kremlin since it began asking the question in this form in 2013, according to its website.
“You can’t scare the tens of millions of people who have been robbed by the authorities,” Navalny told a Moscow court on Thursday via a video link from the prison where he is currently being held for 30 days. “I am glad to see that more and more people see 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 Navalny assistants who were not already in jail were picked up this week in a series of criminal charges. However, they are worried about the scale of the demonstrations and are looking for ways to cool the popular discontent that has begun to boil over the background of declining incomes and coronavirus restrictions, said three people close to the government.
Crowds gather in support of Alexey Navalny during a demonstration in Moscow on January 23.
Photographer: Andrey Rudakov / Bloomberg
‘The avalanche’
“Navalny has triggered an avalanche,” said Evgeny Gontmakher, a prominent Russian economist. “People were already unhappy with their declining income and the pandemic.”
The 68-year-old Russian leader has been in power for more than two decades, the longest rule since Soviet dictator Josef Stalin. In July, Putin made constitutional changes that would allow him to remain president until 2036. His support last year fell to a record high amid the Covid-19 blockade, but recovered slightly until November, according to the Levada Center. . He has survived several previous waves of anti-Kremlin protests, constantly tightening restrictions on public demonstrations.
Thinner wallets
The Russians’ incomes have fallen again since hitting Covid-19
Source: Russian Federal Statistical Service
Navalny, 44, was detained on January 17 on his return home from Germany, where he recovered from an almost fatal poisoning of the nervous agent he and the West accused of Putin’s secret service. His prison has drawn Western calls for his immediate release, including a call this week in a phone call from US President Joe Biden.
Alexei Navalny is being escorted to a police station in Khimki, outside Moscow, on January 18.
Photographer: Alexander Nemenov / AFP / Getty Images
After years of largely ignoring the anti-graft activist in public, the Kremlin began trying to dismiss his accusations. Earlier this week, Putin denounced the protests as “dangerous” and rejected the demands in a video released by Navalny that he owns a $ 1.3 billion giant palace on the Black Sea. The video has over 100 million views.
Putin, poison and the importance of Alexey Navalny: QuickTake
Late Wednesday, police detained Navalny’s brother, Oleg, and two allies, Lyubov Sobol and Anastasia Vasilyeva, for 48 hours on suspicion of violating anti-Covid restrictions 19. Prosecutors asked a Moscow court on Friday to arrest them. House arrest.
They also opened a criminal case against one of the leading aides of the opposition leader, Leonid Volkov, claiming that he encouraged minors to take part in unsanctioned protests. Volkov, who is now outside Russia, has denied the allegations. The opposition leader himself is accused of violating probation under a suspended sentence while recovering from the August attack in Germany. He faces up to 3 and a half years in prison at a Feb. 2 hearing.
Faded call?
Putin’s popularity has skyrocketed
Source: Levada Center
The government’s harsh response reflects concerns that demonstrations are more widespread than in the past, said Natalia Zubarevich, head of regional studies at the Independent Institute for Social Policy in Moscow. However, she expects them to fade as the previous ones did. “They will throw steam and get tired of it,” she said.
Pavel Malyi, a prominent investment banker who was among the protesters in Moscow a week ago, said a sense of injustice galvanized people. “Basic rights must be respected,” he said. “I want to be able to look my children in the eye.”
Riot police detain a supporter of Alexey Navalny during a rally in Moscow on January 23.
Photographer: Andrey Rudakov / Bloomberg
Navalny’s challenge fueled tensions within the political elite. While a person close to the Kremlin said that the authorities must act to reduce social tensions, another official said that there is pressure for a hard line that will only aggravate the dissatisfaction and strengthen Navalny’s appeal.
Polls commissioned by the Kremlin show growing recognition and support for Navalny, especially among young people, according to a person familiar with the figures, which are not public.
Navalny’s ally, Volkov, said Thursday’s decision to keep him in prison showed Putin’s opponents had no choice but to continue to demonstrate. “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