Russia arrests chief Putin critic Alexei Navalny as thousands protest nationwide
Thousands of Russians took to the streets of Moscow, St. Petersburg, and other cities across the country on Sunday to protest Russian President Vladimir Putin and his government's restriction of candidates in the upcoming March 18 presidential election. Opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who called for the protests, was arrested en route to the Moscow demonstration; he was released Sunday night while prosecutors reportedly prepare charges for organizing unauthorized protests. Navalny wants people to boycott the election, which Putin is all but guaranteed to win.
Hours before Navalny's arrest, police in Moscow raided his headquarters in the middle of a live video transmission, detaining one anchor, Dmitri Nizovtsev, and Navalny's Moscow coordinator, Nikolai Lyaskin, The Associated Press reports, citing Russian media. Some 257 people were arrested in the demonstrations nationwide, according to the monitoring group OVD-Info. Navalny has been barred from running in the election due to a fraud conviction widely seen as politically engineered. His arrest and the police raid of his studio — one anchor said police used a power grinder to break into the studio, claiming there was a bomb threat — were captured on video.
Some Republican allies of President Trump, like Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), condemned Navalny's arrest and the crackdown on demonstrators. Trump and his White House have not yet released or tweeted out a statement on the protests. Michael McFaul, a recent U.S. ambassador to Russia, offered to write one for Trump, using Trump's tweeted condemnation of Iran's protest crackdown a month ago as a template.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The protesters on Sunday tended to be young, with many of them born after Putin rose to uninterrupted power in 1999. Peter Weber
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Are 'judge shopping' rules a blow to Republicans?
Today's Big Question How the abortion pill case got to the Supreme Court
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Climate change is driving Indian women to choose sterilization
under the radar Faced with losing their jobs, they are making a life-altering decision
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
'A great culture will be lost if the EV brigade gets its way'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Feds raid Diddy homes in alleged sex trafficking case
Speed Read Homeland Security raided the properties of hip hop mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
'Goon Squad' cops sentenced for torturing 2 Black men
Speed Read The former Mississippi law enforcement officers pleaded guilty last year
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Michigan shooter's dad guilty of manslaughter
speed read James Crumbley failed to prevent his son from killing four students at Oxford High School in 2021
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Shooting at Chiefs victory rally kills 1, injures 21
Speed Read Gunfire broke out at the Kansas City Chiefs' Super Bowl victory parade in Missouri
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Court rules Josef Fritzl can be moved to normal prison
Speed Read 'Notorious' criminal, now 88, was convicted for raping, committing incest and imprisoning his daughter
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published
-
Post Office scandal casts new light on Robin Garbutt murder conviction
Speed Read Supporters claim faulty Horizon evidence was key to guilty verdict but victim's mother accuses former postmaster of jumping on bandwagon
By The Week UK Published
-
Uvalde parents want indictments after DOJ's scathing school shooting report
Speed Read The Justice Department's damning review of the May 2022 school shooting in Texas details 'cascading failures,' but families of the victims want justice
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Girls left 'at the mercy' of Rochdale sex abuse gangs, says 'damning' review
Speed Read Victims 'badly failed' by council and police, said Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published