Russian opposition figures in Moscow called on demonstrators to mass outside city government buildings on July 27th to continue protests against rigged local elections meant to keep Russian President Vladimir Putin’s party in power. The main opposition leader, Alexei Navalny was again detained and sentenced to 30 days in jail. Navalny has been imprisoned many times in the past few years.
Moscow police raided the homes of opposition candidates and carried out sweeping interrogations on Wednesday night, days before a planned protest calling for fair elections, reported The Moscow Times.
“If the United Russia swindlers don’t register the independent candidates and spit on the opinions of the citizenry, then all of us…will come to the mayor’s office at Tverskaya 13,” Navalny wrote in a social media post on July 20, wrote RFERL.
“We have no other choice,” Sobol said. “We must take to the streets and I call on everyone to come to the Moscow mayor’s office at 2 p.m. on Saturday [July 27],” said rejected candidate Lyubov Sobol, a lawyer with Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation.
The demonstrations are a serious threat to continued Kremlin control over the halls of power in Moscow. It will be telling how the Moscow city government responds to calls for additional mass gatherings and possible civil unrest.Video: 20,000+ Protest In Moscow For Free Elections
You can read more about developments here.
- Video: 20,000+ Protest In Moscow For Free Elections
- Putin Continues ‘Union State’ Push For Possible Fifth Term Path
