MOSCOW — Allies of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny
announced plans on Tuesday to stage the biggest anti-Kremlin street protest in
modern Russian history this spring, in a new push to win the opposition’s
politician’s freedom.
اضافة اعلان
Navalny, 44, was jailed last month for two and a half years
on charges he called fabricated. He was arrested as he returned to Russia from
Germany in January where he had been recovering from what doctors said was a
nerve agent poisoning.
Supporters staged three protests at the height of winter
despite the COVID-19 pandemic to demand his release. The authorities said they
were illegal and broke them up with force, detaining thousands and prompting
the opposition to declare a moratorium on protests.
On Tuesday, Navalny’s allies launched a political campaign
with its own “Free Navalny” website and said they would announce a date for a
new nationwide street protest once 500,000 people had registered to attend.
“A protest with 500,000 people taking part will be the
biggest in the history of modern Russia,” said Ivan Zhdanov, head of Navalny’s
Anti-Corruption Foundation.
Navalny’s allies are trying to encourage Russians to take
part in a “smart voting” strategy at September parliamentary elections to
undermine the ruling United Russia party that backs President Vladimir Putin.
“You know who our biggest enemy is? No, not Putin. Putin
can’t stop the wonderful Russia of the future however much he wants to. Our
main enemy is indifference, apathy and apoliticism,” said Leonid Volkov, a
Navalny ally.
Volkov urged followers to register for the protest on the
website, to mark their location on an interactive map, and to spread the word.
Over 60,000 people had signed up within a matter of hours, according to the
website.
“We’ll hold a peaceful rally in the streets of all of
Russia’s cities,” he said.
Navalny has used social media to air videos alleging
official corruption and carved out a following among young Russians in big
cities, though he has struggled to win broad support, which his allies blame on
state television propaganda.
The Levada Centre, a leading pollster, in February put his
overall approval among Russians at 19 percent, while 65 percent of Russians
approved of Putin’s work as president.
The West has demanded Russia release Navalny from jail,
something Moscow has called unacceptable interference in its internal affairs.
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