2021 Russian Protests

Protests in Russia began on 23 January 2021 in support of the opposition leader Alexei Navalny after he was immediately detained upon returning to Russia after being sent to Germany for treatment following his poisoning the previous year. Days before protests began, a film by Navalny and his Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) called '' Putin's Palace'', which revolves around the connection between president Vladimir Putin and a palace allegedly being built for him, was released.

On the first day, protests were held in 198 towns and cities across Russia in what were one of the largest anti-government demonstrations since protests were held against the results of legislative elections in 2011 and Putin's re-election in 2012. Unsanctioned by the authorities, the protests were met with police crackdowns, with thousands detained. As a result, Navalny's team announced a suspension of street protests on 4 February, stating that they would focus on legislative elections that would be held later in the year, and later announcing a shift from street protests to courtyard protests to avoid direct confrontation with police. In response to Navalny's deterioration of health while in prison, street protests were held again on 21 April for the last time.

Despite the protests, Navalny's suspended sentence of three and a half years was replaced with a prison sentence on 2 February. Following the protests, the Moscow prosecutor's office on 16 April formally requested the Moscow City Court to designate organizations linked to Navalny including the FBK and his headquarters as extremist organizations, claiming: "Under the disguise of liberal slogans, these organizations are engaged in creating conditions for the destabilization of the social and socio-political situation." On 9 June, the organizations were designated as extremist and liquidated by the court. In March 2022, Navalny was sentenced to an additional nine years in prison after being found guilty of embezzlement and contempt of court in a new trial.

Background

Navalny had been hospitalized on 20 August 2020, in serious condition after he was poisoned with a Novichok nerve agent during a flight from Tomsk to Moscow. He was medically evacuated to Berlin and discharged on 22 September. The use of a Novichok nerve agent was confirmed by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). Though the Kremlin denied involvement in his poisoning, the EU and the UK responded by imposing sanctions on six senior Russian officials and a state chemical centre. Navalny accused president Vladimir Putin of being responsible for his poisoning. An investigation by Bellingcat and '' The Insider'' implicated agents from the Federal Security Service (FSB) in Navalny's poisoning.

Navalny returned to Russia on 17 January 2021, where he was immediately detained on accusations of violating terms of a suspended jail sentence. Prior to his return, the Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) said that Navalny may face jail time upon his arrival in Moscow for violating the terms of his probation, saying it would be "obliged" to detain him once he returned; in 2014, Navalny received a suspended sentence in the Yves Rocher case, which he called politically motivated and in 2017, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Navalny was unfairly convicted. The Investigative Committee of Russia also said that it was investigating Navalny for alleged fraud. A court decision the next day ordered the detention of Navalny until 15 February for violating his parole. A makeshift court was set up in the police station where Navalny was being held. Another hearing would later be held to determine whether his suspended sentence should be replaced with a jail term. Navalny described the procedure as “ultimate lawlessness”. He also called on his supporters to take to the streets, saying: “Do not be silent. Resist. Take to the streets – not for me, but for you”. Navalny's regional network head, Leonid Volkov, said that preparations were being made for protests to be organised across the country on 23 January.

While in jail, an investigation by Navalny and his Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) was published on 19 January, accusing Putin of corruption involving the construction of a palace by the Black Sea known as " Putin's Palace". The video of the investigation also urged people to take to the streets. Before the protests had begun, the video on YouTube received over 60 million views. By the next day the state communications watchdog Roskomnadzor was demanding the social networks VKontakte ( VK) and TikTok to stop the spread of calls to the protests. The efficacy of these calls is disputed.

Arrests of several of Navalny’s aides and allies, including Lyubov Sobol, began on 21 January. Several were jailed or fined on charges of disobeying police orders or organizing a public event without notifying the authorities, with Sobol being fined and released. The Ministry of Internal Affairs also threatened to prosecute those spreading calls to join the protests. The Prosecutor General's Office also ordered the censor, Roskomnadzor, to block access to pages that call for unauthorized rallies. On 22 January, the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for Moscow issued a statement warning against calls to the protests or participation in them. It stated that any attempts to hold unauthorized events as well as “provocative actions by the participants” would be regarded as a “threat to public order” and be “immediately suppressed”. Social media networks began removing information about the protests. VK blocked access to a number of pages on the protests, with the pages stating that it was blocked on the requirement of the General Prosecutor’s Office. Roskomnadzor also stated that VK, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube blocked some content which involved “calls for children to participate in illegal mass events”. However, Facebook and YouTube have countered this claim. Facebook said it “received requests from the local regulator to restrict access to certain content that calls for protest. Since this content doesn’t violate our Community Standards, it remains on our platform.”

Events

23 January

Reuters estimated up to 40,000 protesters gathered in Moscow. Authorities gave a figure of only 4,000 participants, while other estimates included 15,000 and 25,000 participants. Protesters began gathering at Tverskaya Street and Pushkinskaya Square, with a procession ending near Matrosskaya Tishina where Navalny was being held. Riot police in the city began breaking up the protest and detaining participants before it was scheduled to start. Alexei Navalny's wife, Yulia Navalnaya, was detained by police at the exit of Moscow's Teatralnaya metro station; she was released after being detained for 3 hours. Navalny's ally, Lyubov Sobol, was also detained shortly after arriving at Pushkinskaya Square and was later fined. Clashes between police and protesters broke out. In Tsvetnoy Boulevard, an FSB car was stopped by a crowd of protesters and hit with snowballs, with the driver of the car reportedly sustaining an eye injury. State media reported that around 40 police officers were injured. The Investigative Committee said that it opened a probe into instances of violence against police. Russian rapper Noize MC, rapper Vladi from the group Kasta, director Vasily Sigarev, writer Dmitry Bykov and others attended the protest in Pushkinskaya Square.

According to ''Kommersant'', about 5,000 protesters gathered in St. Petersburg. According to MBKh Media, around 10,000 people took part in the protest. Protesters gathered at Senate Square and moved towards Nevsky Prospekt and the Kazan Cathedral, then the Field of Mars, where police began to disperse the protesters. A video of a riot policeman kicking a woman in the stomach was circulated online. The woman was later reportedly taken to intensive care. The police apologized for the incident and it was reported that the Ministry of Internal Affairs opened a probe. According to OVD-Info, over 500 people in St. Petersburg were detained.

Estimates of the number of protesters in Perm varied between 3,000 and 10,000. According to MBKh Media, around 2,500 people attended the protest in Ufa, Bashkortostan, around 5,000 people attended the protest in Chelyabinsk, around 3,000 people attended the protest in Samara and around 3,000 people attended the protest in Arkhangelsk. In Kazan, around 3,000–4,000 people were estimated to have gathered at the protest which started on Bauman Street. In Kaliningrad, up to 3,000 people were estimated to have taken part in the protest, which moved towards Victory Square. In Krasnodar, around 5,000–7,000 people were estimated to have taken part in the protest, with over 50 people detained according to OVD-Info.

In Siberia, around 4,000 protesters gathered in Novosibirsk according to Tayga.info. Thousands walked from the city's House of Officers to Lenin Square in the city center. Police broke up the protest using force and blocked the main street. According to OVD-Info, around 100 people in the city were detained. In Irkutsk, several thousand people took part in the protest.

Estimates of the number of protesters in Yekaterinburg varied between 3,000 and 10,000. The regional authorities gave an estimate of 3,000 while the local headquarters of Navalny's team gave an estimate of 10,000 participants. According to Znak, around 5,000 people attended. The former mayor of the city and opposition politician Yevgeny Roizman and City Duma deputy Konstantin Kiselev attended the protests. Riot police began breaking up the protest and clashes between police and protesters broke out, with officers hit with snowballs.

In the Russian Far East, up to 3,000 protesters gathered in Vladivostok, according to ''Novaya Gazeta''. Russian YouTuber Yury Dud attended the protest in the city, however told journalists that he came there for "musical, cultural and friendly affairs". Protesters moved towards the central square before being dispersed. According to ''Novaya Gazeta'', around 1,000 protesters gathered in Khabarovsk by Lenin Square in support of both Navalny and the arrested former governor Sergey Furgal before police dispersed the crowd and started detaining participants. In Yakutsk, where temperatures reached −50 °C, several hundred protesters gathered in the city's main square. According to OVD-Info, over 60 people were detained in Khabarovsk, over 30 people were detained in Vladivostok and 30 people were detained in Yakutsk.

In some Russian cities, there were internet and mobile phone network outages. Communication issues were reported in cities including Moscow, St. Petersburg, Krasnodar, Tyumen, Chelyabinsk, Yekaterinburg, Voronezh, Rostov-on-Don, and Saratov. Twitter users in Russia also reported problems accessing the network.

4,002 people across the country were detained that day with over 1,500 of them in Moscow, according to OVD-Info.

By city

¹ Internationally recognised as part of Ukraine, see political status of Crimea for details.

Aftermath

Leonid Volkov, co-founder of Russia of the Future party, said that Navalny's team plans to organize more protests on 31 January, and then, on every subsequent Saturday or Sunday until their demands are met (somewhat similar to what is happening in Belarus since August 2020). Volkov also said that the next protests would be held outside the headquarters of the FSB at Lubyanka Square, as well as at Staraya Square, where the offices of the presidential administration are located. He said the organizers had decided to gather protesters outside the FSB building because they are the "poisoners" and the offices of the presidential administration because they "make the decisions about whether to jail or release Navalny".

By 25 January, courts of general jurisdiction in Moscow received 448 cases of administrative offenses; 441 of which were under Article 20.2 (violating protest rules) of the Administrative Code and 7 under Part 1 of Article 19.3 (failure to follow a lawful order or demand of a police officer, serviceman or official).

A Russian TikToker and his friends were detained for allegedly vandalizing an FSB car in Moscow during the protests. A widely circulated video showed protesters attacking the car, with the driver reportedly being hospitalized with a serious eye injury. On 26 January, it was reported that 20 criminal cases were opened by the Investigative Committee following the protests, with the majority of them under violence against authorities. On 28 January, the Investigative Committee also opened a criminal case against Volkov under "persuading minors to commit unlawful acts".

A woman who was kicked by a riot policeman during the protest in a widely circulated video was hospitalized again after her condition worsened. After she was released from hospital the day after the protest, she said she accepted the apology from the officer, who visited her in hospital, however she later said she did so because she wanted to be left alone. The St. Petersburg prosecutor's office said it was investigating the incident, while Vyacheslav Volodin, the Chairman of the State Duma, defended the police officer, saying he was "being prevented from performing his duties".

Russian police days later searched Navalny's apartment according to Navalny's team, ahead of another nationwide protest on 31 January. Navalny's brother Oleg was present in the apartment, who was taken away by the police following the search. The FBK also said that officers searched its headquarters and the "Navalny Live" studio, as well as the apartment of Kira Yarmysh and Navalny's doctor Anastasia Vasilyeva. The head of the FBK, Ivan Zhdanov, said that the Ministry of Internal Affairs carried out the searches within the framework of Article 236 of the Criminal Code of Russia related to violations of sanitary and epidemiological standards.

Navalny's coordinator in Nizhny Novgorod, Roman Tregubov, was arrested on 28 January and the next day was sentenced to five days in jail. On 30 January, the day before protests would begin again, a video of him was published where he announced his resignation and urged people not to go to the protests. His lawyer stated that he received threats before the video was recorded and also shared a photo of a letter written by him, addressed to the local district attorney and the head of the city's regional court, where he said that "statements, testimonies, or appeals" coming from him without the presence of his lawyer should be considered to be "obtained under torture, pressure, or some other outside compulsion". Other videos by the Investigative Committee were also published earlier featuring apologies by detained protesters who allegedly attacked law enforcement.

31 January

In Moscow, before protests began, authorities closed the lobbies of several metro stations in the city center (including Aleksandrovsky Sad, Okhotny Ryad, Teatralnaya, Ploshchad Revolyutsii, Kuznetsky Most, Lubyanka and Kitay-gorod) and restricted movement in parts of the city center, including the closure of restaurants and shops. The FSB building in Lubyanka Square was also cordoned off. Protest organizers changed the start of the rally to the Sukharevskaya and Krasnye Vorota metro stations. Police began detaining protesters by the stations, and the entrances and exits to the stations were then closed at the request of the police. The location was then changed to Komsomolskaya Square. The entrance and exit to the Krasnoselskaya and Sokolniki stations were then closed. Protesters then moved towards Matrosskaya Tishina, where Navalny was being held. Alexei Navalny's wife, Yulia Navalnaya, was detained again after attending the protest in Sokolniki; she was released several hours later and a protocol on violation of the protest law was drawn up against her. After police began mass arrests and dispersed protesters outside Matrosskaya Tishina, protesters returned to Komsomolskaya Square. Police then blocked off Olkhovskaya Street, trapping protesters. Opposition politician Ilya Yashin was detained.

In St. Petersburg, protest organizers moved the rally to Pionerskaya Square after authorities closed off Nevsky Prospekt. Protesters gathered near the Bryantsev Youth Theatre. The rapper Oxxxymiron attended the city's protest on his birthday and was later detained by police; he was later released. Protesters then moved to Sennaya Square where clashes between police and protesters broke out, and police used tear gas after protesters tried to rescue detainees. Police also reportedly used stun guns and a video of a police officer taking out his pistol and pointing it was published. After the dispersal of the protesters on Pionerskaya Square, protesters went along Zagorodny Prospekt towards Moskovsky Prospekt. Protesters then moved to outside the building of the city's legislative assembly, where they clashed with police and were forcibly dispersed. Protesters then moved back near the Bryantsev Youth Theatre where organizers announced the end of the rally and protesters were finally dispersed by police.

In Nizhny Novgorod, the National Guard and police blocked Minin and Pozharsky Square. The Gorkovskaya metro station was also closed. Detentions of protesters began in the afternoon on Bolshaya Pokrovskaya Street, near the former Oktyabr cinema. The journalist Alexander Pichugin was also detained there. The protesters left the street and began to gather in Minin and Pozharsky Square near the monument to Kuzma Minin. OMON and police pushed the protesters out of the square.

In Yekaterinburg, most metro stations were closed (from Prospekt Kosmonavtov to Ploshchad 1905 Goda). The former mayor of the city, Yevgeny Roizman, participated in the city's protest again despite a warning from the prosecutor's office. Around 7,000 protesters gathered in the city according to media estimates.

According to Tayga.info, around 6,000 protesters gathered in Novosibirsk, more than in the previous protest.

The state communications watchdog, Roskomnadzor, warned media outlets about heavy fines for "spreading fakes concerning unauthorized rallies", including publishing "inflated figures on the number of participants in illegal rallies".

According to OVD-Info, 5,611 people were detained, with over 1,800 of them in Moscow and over 1,300 of them in St. Petersburg. Also according to OVD-Info, at least 82 journalists were detained. Several demonstrators were hospitalized due to injuries such as bone fracture. A deaf-mute Saint Petersburg man was fined for "chanting slogans".

2 February

Supporters of Navalny gathered outside the Moscow City Court, where the court was considering a request from the Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) to replace Navalny's suspended sentence with a jail sentence. Navalny was charged with violating a suspended sentence he received in 2014 while he was in Germany, a sentence that the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in 2017 previously ruled as "arbitrary and unreasonable". According to OVD-Info, 354 people were detained at the time, including four in Izhevsk.

The court ruled that Navalny's three and a half year suspended sentence was to be replaced with a prison sentence, minus the amount of time he spent under house arrest, meaning he would spend over two and a half years in a penal colony.

Following the verdict, Navalny's team called for immediate protests near the Kremlin at Manezhnaya Square in Moscow. Large numbers of riot police were deployed to the square and other areas in central Moscow. Police then cordoned off Manezhnaya Square and Pushkinskaya Square. Red Square was also closed earlier. The Okhotny Ryad, Teatralnaya and Ploshchad Revolyutsii metro stations were then also closed. Around a thousand protesters gathered at Tverskaya Street and two thousand were estimated to have marched down Petrovskiy Pereulok. The main group of protesters then headed to Pushkin Square. Police dispersed the protesters with force and there were instances of police violence.

In St. Petersburg, the Gostiny Dvor and Nevsky Prospekt metro stations were closed. The Mayakovskaya and Ploshchad Vosstaniya metro stations were also later closed.

According to OVD-Info, 1,463 people in total were detained, including over 1,180 in Moscow and 280 in St. Petersburg.

Aftermath

On 4 February, Leonid Volkov, Navalny's chief of staff, announced that protests would be suspended until at least spring to focus on the parliamentary elections in autumn. He said: "If we go out every week, thousands more will be detained, and hundreds more beaten... The work of the regional headquarters will be paralyzed and it will be impossible to work on elections. This is not what Alexei wants from us. Alexei has asked us to concentrate on this autumn". He also said that his team would work on getting Navalny out of prison using "foreign policy methods" including working to ensure that foreign leaders put pressure on Putin and his government to release Navalny.

On 6 February, the Russian government expelled three diplomats, each from Germany, Poland and Sweden for allegedly participating in the protests on 23 January, leading to protest from the United States and EU leaders. On 8 February, the governments of Germany, Poland, and Sweden each expelled a Russian diplomat in retaliation.

On 8 February, a Saratov lawmaker from the Communist Party, Nikolai Bondarenko, was detained on charges of violating protest rules. His colleagues said he attended the protests on 31 January as an observer. Olga Alimova, the Saratov regional branch leader of the Communist Party, linked Bondarenko's detention with his stated plans to run for the State Duma elections later in the year, where he would compete with State Duma speaker Vyacheslav Volodin and is considered a strong challenger. The leader of the Communist Party, Gennady Zyuganov, said he would defend him in court and fight for his release.

On 9 February, Volkov announced new courtyard protests on 14 February in what he said was a "completely different format", shifting from street protests to avoid direct confrontation with police. Volkov invited supporters to gather in courtyards and hold up their phones with the flashlight on during the evening. Volkov stated: "Hundreds of thousands of people took to the Russian streets on 23 January and 31 January. The response was an unprecedented wave of violence and repression... We need to find a way to overcome it and hold an event that riot police could not prevent and everyone could attend". He also addressed his earlier remarks on protests being suspended, saying: "My poorly worded phrase was interpreted by everyone that the protests are cancelled. That was quite a difficult moment". Dmitry Peskov, upon being questioned whether or not such actions would be considered illegal, was quoted saying: "We won't be playing cat and mouse with them".

On 11 February, Russian federal prosecutors warned against participation and incitement of unauthorized mass demonstrations, threatening felony charges against Internet users who advocated "riots". On the same day, the state news agencies TASS and RIA Novosti reported, using the same quotes and quoting sources in law enforcement, that terrorist attacks were being prepared for the upcoming rallies with "the most experienced and trusted militants" being trained to commit crimes during the street actions.

14 February

A number of actions against repression were held in Russia on Valentine's Day. In the action called "Love is stronger than fear" organized by Navalny's team, courtyard protests were held across Russia during the evening. A medic who worked at a coronavirus hospital in Moscow posted a widely-shared photo of him taking part in the flashlight protest, however said that he was fired the next day, saying "this is what they do to all dissenters in Russia".

In Moscow, hundreds of women formed a "chain of solidarity" along Arbat Street to support Navalny's wife and female victims of repression, taking inspiration from the women-led protests held in Belarus. Despite not being authorized, there was no police presence. A similar human chain took place in St. Petersburg at Voskresenskaya Naberezhnaya.

An authorized rally against repression was held in Kazan at Millennium Square, organized by representatives of Yabloko, PARNAS, and Left Front. Authorities permitted up to 200 participants, citing coronavirus restrictions, however ''Kommersant'' reported that around 1,000 people attended the rally. Protesters demanded the release of political prisoners including Navalny.

According to OVD-Info, 19 people in total were detained that day. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov

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