Masked protesters and riot police clash in East Siberian city
In Ulan-Ude, a city in East Siberia, riot police have clashed with masked individuals at a protest demanding that officials release several jailed followers of Alexander Gabyshev, the Irkutsk “warrior shaman” who since March has been traveling on foot to Moscow, where he plans to “exorcise” Vladimir Putin’s spirit. Demonstrators have also demanded the invalidation of Sunday’s mayoral election results. The Instagram account ves_ulan_ude_ posted video footage of the violence.
In the video, riot police officers fight off a group of people who then hide in a minibus.
Buryatia People's Khural deputy Bair Tsyrenov was also present at Ulan-Ude’s central square (where the protest took place). According to the website OVD-Info, riot police officers surrounded his car, smashed in the windows, and dragged out Tsyrenov and another two local politicians. Nina Khandarova, the first secretary of the Communist Party’s Ulan-Ude District Committee, told the website Tayga.Info that Tsyrenov’s supporters managed to free him from police custody by fighting off the riot troops, though People's Khural colleague Tumen Dondokov told MBKh Media that Tsyrenov and his allies were ultimately arrested.
According to the website Baikal24, the local authorities in Ulan-Ude have been jamming mobile Internet communications in the area of the protest.