Russian police arrested thousands over the weekend as they tried to block protests in at least 66 cities in seven time zones, and more protests are coming next weekend. What will autocrat Vladimir Putin need to realize that the arrest of Alexei Navalny was a mistake?
The Kremlin has tried to assassinate Navalny twice, most recently with a Soviet nerve agent, but the opposition leader is only returning. Literally: He returned from Berlin last week, where he recovered from the almost fatal poisoning – only to divert his plane to an airport 25 kilometers from his destination, so that the police could arrest him far from the supporters who came together. to greet him.
He was detained for thirty days pending a trial on old trump card charges that could send him to a penal colony for years.
But Navalny has already recorded one of his prospective assassins spilling the beans over the poisoning attempt, and also leaked evidence about Putin’s apparent love child. His team also released a new report on Putinian corruption on Tuesday, which has been viewed more than 70 million times on YouTube.
The most important thing is that his supporters do not give up. According to one estimate, 35,000 turn up to protest in Moscow, with more crowds as far as Vladivostock. Meanwhile, Navalny has tentatively warned: “I do not intend to hang myself on a window sill or cut my veins or throat open with a sharp spoon.”
Putin has a tiger on his tail.
