Russia
Hundreds of arrests at Navalny memorial
People who had laid flowers for Navalny were also arrested in St. Petersburg. photo
© Uncredited/AP/dpa
Russians in many cities are spontaneously expressing their sadness for Kremlin opponent Alexei Navalny, who, according to the authorities, died in custody. But even paying tribute with flowers and candles is dangerous in the country.
In many places, despite evictions and arrests, fresh flowers continued to be laid, candles were lit and pictures were put up in memory of Navalny. There were also numerous rallies abroad in memory of the Kremlin opponent, mostly in front of Russian diplomatic missions.
“How great the power apparatus’ fear of a dead person is when even laying flowers in his memory is viewed as a crime,” wrote the Russian Nobel Peace Prize winner and founder of the Kremlin-critical newspaper Novaya Gazeta, Dmitri Muratov, on the Telegram news channel.
Protests have not been allowed for years
According to Russian authorities, Navalny, who was physically weakened after many days in repeated solitary confinement, collapsed on Friday while walking in the prison camp in freezing temperatures. According to the prison service, attempts at resuscitation were unsuccessful. Human rights activists accuse the Russian power apparatus of murder. According to Navalny’s team, a lawyer is on his way to the prison camp north of the Arctic Circle. Accordingly, the prominent anti-corruption campaigner’s employees also assumed that Navalny was deliberately killed.
As a globally recognized Russian opposition leader, Navalny embodied the hope for a future after the dictatorship, wrote expert Alexander Baunow for the Carnegie think tank on Saturday. Even in the prison camp, the politician remained a nuisance for the Kremlin. “But the effort itself to get rid of such an irritating figure also shows that the regime is not as confident in itself and its future as it would like to appear.”
Russia’s power apparatus repeatedly uses violence against dissidents. Protests have not been allowed in the country for years.