Opposition supporters to protest in Moscow for third weekend in a row
Opposition supporters in Russia will take to the streets of Moscow again today to protest a decision to exclude opposition candidates from local elections to be held on August 3rd.
The protests have been continuing for three weeks. Last weekend’s protests saw 20,000 people gathered in Central Moscow, chanting “Putin is a thief.” 1300 protestors were detained, more than 150 spent the night at police stations and 25 were injured.
A similar number of opposition supporters are expected to turn out today amid anger with establishment politics in Russia. The prosecution office has raised concern about the unauthorised rally breaching the law and has announced that steps will be taken to avoid mass unrest.
These protests come after claims that Putin’s administration poisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny. While Putin’s medical officials claim that Navalny was not poisoned, Navalny’s doctor was denied access when she tried to examine him in the hospital. Furthermore, while it was reported that Mr Navalny had a “severe allergic reaction,” his spokeswoman said that he had never complained of allergies before.
If the poisoning allegations are found true, anti-government sentiment will likely intensify and cause protests to escalate in nature.
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