Russian police have arrested over 80 people for participating in protests in memory of Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny, who died in prison on Friday.
In Nizhny Novgorod, demonstrators gathered outside of the local Interior Ministry building, where journalist Irina Slavina died by self-immolation in 2020. According to the human rights media project OVD-Info, 12 people were arrested. They were later released without any charges.
Arrests also took place in St. Petersburg, where police broke up gatherings at a monument to victims of political repression, according to publication Bumaga. Telegram channel Zaks.ru reported that dozens had been arrested, including two journalists — Novaya Gazeta photographer Alexey Dushutin and RusNews journalist Elina Kozich. St. Petersburg Legislative Assembly deputy Boris Vishnevsky reported that the journalists were released shortly after being arrested.
Telegram channel Rotonda posted a video showing police restraining one person’s arms and legs and carrying him into a van. The channel reported that another ten people had also been arrested, making a total of at least 20 arrests in St. Petersburg.
Arrests also took place at the Solovetsky Stone, a Moscow monument to victims of political repressions, where some residents arrived with flowers. Yuliya Petrova, a journalist with RusNews, was among those arrested. She was later released.
One person, Maxim Sokolov, was beaten after his arrest, said his girlfriend. Telegram channel SOTA posted video footage of Sokolov’s violent arrest.
The exact number of arrests in Moscow is unknown. OVD-Info reports that at least seven people have been arrested.
In the city of Cheboksary, police arrested Konstantin Ishutov, an owner of the Telegram channel Chuvashia bez tsenzury (Chuvashia uncensored), who brought flowers to a memorial for Navalny. OVD Info also reported that one person had been arrested while attempting to place flowers in Tver.
Telegram channel Pepel reports that police arrested a person attempted to lay flowers at a memorial to victims of political repression in Belgorod’s Memorial Park. Police are reportedly patrolling the park, and the lights have been turned off. Several people were unable to lay flowers at the memorial for fear of arrest.
Demonstrations in memory of Alexey Navalny have taken place in Russia and all over the world.
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