Vladimir Putin's government will face fresh wave of discontent, says arrested Russian opposition leader

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny speaks to press in a court room in Moscow, Russia, Monday, March 27, 2017
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny speaks to press in a court room in Moscow, Russia, Monday, March 27, 2017 Credit:  Denis Tyrin/AP

Vladimir Putin's government will face further demonstrations of public discontent after a wave of anti-corruption protests swept Russia at the weekend, the opposition leader arrested for leading the rallies has said.

Alexei Navalny, 40, was jailed for 15 days on Monday for disobeying a police officer at a protest against government corruption in central Moscow at the weekend.

He was also ordered to pay a fine of 20,000 rubles (£280) for organising an unsanctioned demonstration.

“You can’t detain tens of thousands of people,” Alexei Navalny told reporters in the court room. “Yesterday we saw the authorities can only go so far.”

More than 1,000 people were arrested in cities across Russia on Sunday following dozens of demonstrations demanding that prime minister Dmitry Medvedev resign over corruption allegations released in a dossier compiled by Mr Navalny.

Mr Medvedev's spokeswoman called the allegations "propagandistic attacks"​​ unworthy of detailed comment and said they amounted to pre-election posturing by Mr Navalny.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev Credit: MAXIM SHIPENKOV/EPA

Police also arrested 17 people at the office of Mr Navalny’s anti-corruption campaign group, which was running 
a webcast of the Moscow demonstration.

After arriving in court on Monday morning, Mr Navalny tweeted a selfie with the caption: “A time will come when we’ll put them on trial too – and that time it will be fair.”

Mr Navalny struck a defiant note at the hearing, demanding that Mr Medvedev be called as a witness to explain the alleged corruption people were protesting about and saying he and his allies would not be deterred.

Sunday’s demonstrations were the largest expression of discontent with Mr Putin’s government since the winter of 2011 and 2012, when a series of massive protests took place in Moscow following elections marred by accusations of fraud.

But, unlike five years ago, this weekend’s protests took place in cities across the nation, including Novosibirsk in Siberia, Yekaterinburg in the Urals, 
and Vladivostok in the far east of the country.

The breadth of the protests poses a challenge for the Kremlin, which had some success characterising previous Moscow-based opposition marches as the work of an out-of-touch metropolitan elite.

The Kremlin yesterday accused Mr Navalny and other protest leaders of inciting a “provocation” and “offering certain rewards” to encourage schoolchildren to take part.

Russian riot policemen detain a demonstrator during an opposition rally in central Moscow, Russia
Russian riot policemen detain a demonstrator during an opposition rally in central Moscow, Russia Credit:  MAXIM SHIPENKOV/EPA

“The Kremlin respects people’s civic stance and their right to voice their position,” Dmitry Peskov, Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, said. 

“We can’t express the same respect to those who consciously misled people and who consciously did it yesterday and provoked illegal actions,” he added.

Asked about the Kremlin’s reaction to the wide geography of the protests, something that has not been seen at least since 2011, Mr Peskov said: “The Kremlin is quite sober about the scale of yesterday’s protests, and are not inclined to diminish them or push them out of proportion.”

Police officers detain Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny during an unauthorised anti-corruption rally in central Moscow
Police officers detain Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny during an unauthorised anti-corruption rally in central Moscow Credit: AFP/Getty Images

The European Union called on the Kremlin to release those detained “without delay”.

Mr Navalny plans to run for president against Mr Putin at elections next year. However, tThe lawyer-turned-opposition leader is serving a suspended sentence for a fraud and embezzlement conviction, which could bar him from the ballot.

Polls suggest he has little chance of beating Mr Putin in the vote, but his supporters hope to leverage anger at high-level corruption into votes.

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