Kremlin critic Navalny's aide calls for 'big' anti-government rally in spring

A close aide to detained Russian leader Alexei Navalny has called on his supporters to join anti-government demonstrations later this year. During a YouTube live stream on February 4, Leonid Volkov, stated that the Kremlin critic’s organization would try to hold more demonstrations, "but not every week.” Instead, he argued that they would “properly organize them” and definitely hold another “big one” in spring and summer.

Hundreds of thousands of people, in support of the release of the Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, have gathered to protests against the Vladimir Putin led government across Russian cities. In a bid to quell the ‘illegal’ protests, the Russian law enforcement agents launched a political crackdown arresting over 10,000 people including Navalny’s wife and his aides.

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However, speaking in his Youtube video, Volkov hailed the protests calling it one of the most popular in the country’s history. Doubling down on his comment, He highlighted that people in 180 cities across the political, social and economic state came together to demand Navalny’s release. He further said that it was only due to the nationwide demonstrations that have made Putin afraid of the Russian people.

Navalny's arrest

Navalny, on February 2, was handed a prison term, after the judge took into account the 11 months that he had spent under house arrest. Prosecutor General's office backed the motion alleging Navalny had engaged in "unlawful conduct" during the probation period. Condemning Tuesday’s ruling as politically motivated, the pro-pro-navally demonstrators flooded the streets of Moscow, in fresh rallies, denouncing the Russian government and demanding the immediate release of Putin’s opposition leader.

"Can you explain to me how else I was supposed to fulfil the terms of my probation and notify where I am?" Navalny asked the court, according to ANI's report. He added, “Why are you sitting here and telling the court you didn’t know where I was? I fell into a coma, then I was in the ICU, then in rehabilitation. I contacted my lawyer to send you a notice. You had the address, my contact details. What else could I have done to inform you?” 

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