Navalny protests against snowballs as grievances grow in Russia

But over the weekend protests over the detention of Mr Navalny on his return to Russia after recovering from a poisoning attack threaten to turn into a broader movement. Dissatisfaction is now turning to anger after a court ordered that Navalny be detained for 30 days, fueled by chronic corruption, the pain caused by the collapse of the oil price last year and the closure measures of Covid-19.

“We have a real problem with corruption, on the one hand, and on the other hand with poverty,” Evgeniya Ragozina, a 28-year-old lawyer who braved the temperature of minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit, said to take part in a rally. in the Siberian. city ​​of Tyumen. She added that the arrest of Mr. Navalny was just the trigger.

“People are afraid of not seeing a decent future for themselves,” she said. ‘That’s why I’ll be [protesting] until the end of Putin’s political regime. ”

Saturday’s rallies were one of the biggest nationwide disagreements in recent years, with a total of more than 100,000 people, according to estimates by local media. Police shook about 3,700 people detained in the day, more than at any time since a wave of anti-Kremlin protests Russia in 2011 and 2012.

The organizers said they were still planning protests for Sunday, while Mr. Putin laid the foundation to remain in power for years to come. Last year, Russia endorsed a series of constitutional amendments initiated by the Kremlin that would enable it to remain in place until 2036, in a vote largely organized as proof of support for the leader.

Mr Navalny became a symbol of the protests after being detained on his return from Germany, where he had recovered from a poisoning attack in Siberia during the summer. Last weekend’s marches, in which protesters wrestled with police and bumped with snowballs, included many of his followers.

But the crowd also included a broader coalition of middle- and middle-class Russians. Surveys among protesters in Moscow on Saturday found that more than 40% were protesting for the first time. The protests are taking place against rising poverty and rising inflation, caused by a 20% drop in the value of the ruble last year. Many Russians say the government has not done enough to alleviate the pandemic.

Mr. Putin is not in imminent political danger. Many Russians still consider him irreplaceable and according to his independent poll Levada, his approval rating stood at 65% in November. He also has the Russian security forces and the judiciary on his side, which gives him enough room to await the protests, just as his Belarus counterpart Alexander Lukashenko has done since a contested election this summer.

But Mr. Navalny and his team continue to hold the authority of Mr. Putin with the large online audience he built broke out by releasing videos accusing Kremlin officials of corruption. In the days before the protest, they released another video, this time featuring a lavish palace with a casino and indoor ice hockey rink that allegedly belonged to Mr. Putin was built on the shores of the Black Sea. Unusually, Mr. Putin on Monday said he denied knowing who owned the building and named the allegations. Normally he tries mr. Navalny belittles, avoids using his name or ignores his accusations.

The track has been collected more than 90 million times on YouTube and has struck a chord with many Russians who have become largely familiar with stories about the leader’s wealth.

“The state of mind in society is changing,” said Konstantin Kalachev, a political analyst in Moscow. There is a wide range of problems that drive people down the street. “The reason for the protest differs for each protester.”

The Kremlin’s initial reaction seems to be to Mr. Navalny as an agent of the US and its allies. The head of Russia’s powerful Security Council said on Tuesday that the West’s Mr. Navalny needs to destabilize Russia.

Mr. Putin has long talked about the confrontation with the West, which has caused Western sanctions in response to alleged burglary attacks and an attempt to influence the 2016 US presidential election, which Mr. Putin denies it. Last year, Russian lawmakers passed a bill designating political or campaign groups that receive funds from abroad as foreign agents, subject to restrictions.

However, political analysts suggest that Mr. Putin and his allies are still looking for a strategy outside of mass arrests to curb the swell in protests, and will likely be well aware of how similar marches have forced them to oust. To free Navalny after being detained in 2013.

“The Kremlin has no strategy or even tactics to respond other than the power line,” said Andrei Kolesnikov, a Russian domestic policy expert at the Carnegie Moscow Center.

Write to Thomas Grove at [email protected] and Georgi Kantchev at [email protected]