Russia blocks 49 websites linked to jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny

As many as 49 websites linked to jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny were blocked by Moscow on Monday as pressure mounted on the opponents of Russian President Vladimir Putin ahead of parliamentary elections. Among the banned websites were some of Navalny’s key portals for his regional offices and allies. Navalny’s primary website was also blocked, and Russian authorities prepared to ban another website dedicated to ‘Smart Voting,’ that lists proposed strategy to back candidates that can defeat Russian President Putin, Navalny associates told the foreign media outlets on July 26. 

The move was prompted after the ruling United Russia party lost seats in the local elections due to what Putin’s officials described as Russia’s opposition anti-government campaign. In retaliation, the officials were now stepping up the intimidation and crackdown against the dissenters ahead of elections in September, according to several reports.

On Monday, however, Russian state media regulator Roskomnadzor revealed in an official statement that the Navalny-related websites were banned permanently in accordance with prosecutors finding that these sites were in fact branding his ‘extremist’ organizations. ‘The mentioned internet resources are used for the propaganda and continuation of prohibited activities of (Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation) FBK,’ the censor’s statement read, as cited by the agencies. 

Several of Navalny’s allies, including Maria Pevchikh, the head of investigations at the Anti-Corruption Foundation, meanwhile condemned the ban saying that “they [ruling Russian government] have decided to completely cleanse us from the Russian internet.” Top Navalny aide Leonid Volkov, living in EU member state Lithuania, wrote on Twitter that he got a letter from Moscow’s Prosecutor General's Office that alleged that his sites were “calling for riots.”

He furthermore added, that “ In addition to Navalny's site, sites of [ally] Lyubov Sobol and Oleg Stepanov; all sites of the former regional headquarters; sites of Rosyama,” were also blocked. Website of at least 40 regional offices of Navalny declared extremist last year were also discontinued. In addition to that, websites of the Navalny-backed Alliance of Doctors union and an online page calling for Navalny's freedom were also blocked by the Russian government. 

Navalny arrested in January

Putin's most ardent political foe, Alexei Navalny was arrested in January at the airport when he returned from Germany after recovering from a soviet-era nerve agent poisoning. He was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison for violating the terms of suspended parole from a 2014 embezzlement conviction which he dismissed as politically motivated by his rival Putin. His jailing had also sparked mass protests across Russia as citizens, and the international leaders called for Navalny's immediate release.