Russia moves to block protests
MOSCOW — Russian prosecutors moved Friday to block calls on social networks for more protests in Moscow and other Russian cities following a wave of rallies that have cast a new challenge to the Kremlin.
Tens of thousands of demonstrators turned out in Moscow and other Russian cities last Sunday to rally against corruption in the largest outpouring of discontent in years.
The Prosecutor General’s office confirmed Friday it has requested the state communications watchdog block pages on social networks calling for more protests in Moscow and elsewhere in Russia on Sunday.
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who organized Sunday’s unsanctioned protest, is serving a 15-day sentence on charges of resisting police. More than 1,000 protesters have been arrested in Moscow, and many of them also have been sentenced to brief jail terms and fines. A dozen people working for Navalny are among those serving jail time.
Without naming Navalny, President Vladimir Putin, who faces an election in March 2018, has denounced protest organizers who try to use anti-corruption slogans in “narrow selfish political goals.”
Navalny has declared his intention to run for president and vowed to appeal a conviction that bars him from the race, which he denounced as politically-driven.
Faced with a tough challenge, the Kremlin is mulling a response.
Putin on Thursday vowed to fight corruption, but also warned that the government wouldn’t allow any breach of law. He drew parallels with the Arab Spring uprisings in Africa and the Middle East and protests in Ukraine that toppled a Russia-friendly president in 2014.
“Everybody should act in political processes within the framework of the law. All those who go outside this law should bear punishment in accordance with Russian legislation,” Putin said.
The protests have shaken Russia’s sleepy political scene and reinvigorated the opposition after years of relentless official crackdown, showing public readiness to brave draconian laws which make repeated participation in unsanctioned protests punishable with prison terms and hefty fines.