Russian police carry out mass raids against opposition activists

[Eugene]

Source: The Guardian

Russian state security services have carried out simultaneous nationwide raids on the Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny’s regional headquarters four days after pro-Putin candidates suffered massive losses in the Moscow city assembly elections.

The operation, involving more than 1,000 officers in at least 200 individual raids and ostensibly in connection with money-laundering charges Navalny says are politically motivated, was carried out across 40 towns and cities the length and breadth of Russia, from Murmansk in the Arctic to Vladivostok on the Pacific coast. The homes of dozens of Navalny activists were also searched.

Leonid Volkov, a key Navalny aide, described it as a “pure act of political repression”.

Navalny directly linked the raids to a desire for revenge by the Kremlin after its losses in the Moscow elections. Navalny had instead urged his supporters to vote tactically at the polls to inflict the maximum possible electoral damage. Ratings for Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party have slumped to a near-record low of about 32% amid growing poverty and a five-year increase in the national pension age.

-snip-

Marc Bennetts in Moscow
Thu 12 Sep 2019 15.02 BST
First published on Thu 12 Sep 2019 09.31 BST


Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/sep/12/russian-police-raid-homes-and-offices-of-opposition-activists

[NCjack]

2. Trump is so envious. nt

[dalton99a]

3. Russia Turns Trampled Grass Into Weapon Against Opponents

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-09-12/russia-turns-trampled-grass-into-weapon-against-opponents

Russia Turns Trampled Grass Into Weapon Against Opponents
By Jake Rudnitsky and Ilya Arkhipov
September 12, 2019, 4:12 AM CDT

A state-owned organization responsible for maintaining Moscow’s roads is seeking compensation from protest leaders for grass trampled during a recent unsanctioned protest, part of a multi-pronged assault on the opposition that included raids on Alexey Navalny’s network of offices around the country Thursday.

The authorities raided at least 39 offices in Navalny’s political network, seeking evidence for a money laundering investigation started last month against his Anti-Corruption Foundation, his ally Leonid Volkov wrote on Facebook. The searches came a day after the road agency Avtodor was in court seeking 12 million rubles ($183,000) from nine leaders of the recent protests in the capital to compensate for grass allegedly damaged during a July 27 protest.

The new assaults on the opposition come as the Kremlin scrambles to contain a wave of protests sparked by the refusal to allow independent politicians on the ballot for a local election. Other efforts, which included attempting to strip people of their parental rights for attending rallies, breaking up protests with riot police and arresting thousands, fueled popular anger, spurring the largest demonstrations since President Vladimir Putin returned to the presidency in 2012 after four years as prime minister.

“Even if they start to seize property, it will only mobilize the opposition more,” Kirill Rogov, a Moscow-based political analyst, said of the new tactics. “They’ve attempted depriving parents of their rights and property claims. But the laws that they passed were not enough to prevent street protests. They’re searching for new methods.”

[Thekaspervote]

5. So so sad, these people are so brave! They have nothing, so they fight, in any way they can

[oldsoftie]

4. I wondered when that would start. nt