Police in Russia have detained at least 300 protesters who have rallied in support of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny on Wednesday, according to the OVD-Info protest monitoring group.
Protests in support of Navalny began in each city around 7pm and moved west across the country with the largest turnouts expected in Moscow, where demonstrators are gathering in a square adjacent to the Kremlin, and in St. Petersburg.
Many of the protesters were detained before protests even began, including two top Navalny associates in Moscow. His supporters fear he soon could die in prison, where he is on hunger strike, and are demanding he be given proper medical care.
Navalny’s team called the unsanctioned demonstrations after reports that his health is deteriorating while on hunger strike, which he began March 31b but Officials say he has been treated as any other convict would be and have warned the rallies are illegal.
A close Navalny ally and executive director of the Foundation for Fighting Corruption, Vladimir Ashurkov, told Newsmen that the situation with Alexei was critical, and so they moved up the day of the mass protests.
His organisation had said protests would take place in more than 180 cities, but it was not immediately clear if they would match the massive turnout for protests in January.
The nationwide protests were called on the same day that Putin gave his annual state-of-the-nation address in which he denounced foreign governments’ alleged attempts to impose their will on Russia.
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