Politics

Anti-Putin Leader Arrested Before Daylong Protests Across Russia

Opposition leader Alexei Navalny was arrested outside his home on his way to a demonstration in Moscow, part of his planned Russia Day protests.

Anti-Putin Leader Arrested Before Daylong Protests Across Russia
Radio Liberty
SMS

Protests and anti-corruption demonstrations in Russia reached historic levels Monday, and several hundred people were detained across the country. 

The protests were organized by Alexei Navalny, an opposition leader who has been pushing to run against President Vladimir Putin next year. 

But Navalny was arrested Monday morning on his way to the protests. The night before, he posted a YouTube video calling on demonstrators to ignore the state-sanctioned location and instead march on Tverskaya Street, a main Moscow thoroughfare leading toward the Kremlin.  

Navalny was also behind the massive protests organized in March. He was arrested then, too. Anti-government demonstrations had fallen off after a crackdown on opposition in 2011 and 2012.

Putin is up for re-election in 2018. It would be his fourth presidential term. He's been either the president or prime minister of Russia since 1999. And presidential terms were extended from four to six years under his watch. 

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Navalny's protests were scheduled to coincide with Russia Day, the holiday celebrating the end of the Soviet era. Navalny was sentenced to 30 days in jail, according to the Associated Press