2020 demonstrations against Vladimir Putin in Russia
This article is about the protests about the poisoning of Alexei Navalny. For the protests about the arrest of Sergei Furgal, see 2020–2021 Khabarovsk Krai protests.
Yabloko leader Grigory Yavlinsky on a march in memory of Boris Nemtsov on 29 February.
The protests began on 29 February with a march in Moscow in memory of a killed former Deputy Prime Minister and Putin's critic Boris Nemtsov, during which several opposition figures, including Navalny and Grigory Yavlinsky were giving speeches and accusing President Putin for assassination of Nemtsov. Similar rallies were held in others cities, including Saint Petersburg.[1]
Opposition leader Navalny was poisoned with Novichok in August by the FSB, resulting in his flight to Berlin, Germany for a medical treatment. When he returned to Russia on 17 January 2021, he was arrested and imprisoned, which fueled an another way of protests which was violently suppressed by the Putin's regime's forces.[4]
2020 Nemtsov memorial march
The march in memory of Boris Nemtsov, former Deputy Prime Minister who became a leading critic of Vladimir Putin's government, have taken place on 29 February 2020. During this event, many opposition parties and groups gathered in cities accros Russia, including Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Yekaterinburg.[5]
Chairman of the Council of Deputies of Krasnoselsky districtIlya Yashin said that in his video that “There are moments when you can’t sit at home,” and that “Putin should not rule forever. It’s time to remind him of that.”, calling people to join the anti-Putin march.[6]
Opposition politician from the Yabloko party Grigory Yavlisnky also appeared that day and accused President Putin for murder of Boris Nemtsov because of his dissent, claiming that former Deputy Prime Minister's death is an evidence for growing authoritarianism in Russia.[7]
On 20 August, Navalny felt unwell during a plane flight from Tomsk to Moscow. He became ill and was taken to a hospital in Omsk after an emergency landing there, and then, he was put in a coma. His wife, Yulia Navalnaya, assumed that the entire incident is an attempt to assassinate her husband and begged to evacuate him to Charité hospital in Berlin, Germany. Navalny survived a poisoning operation and found out that the perpetrator was the Federal Security Service (FSB), publishing his own list of people involved in assassination attempt on his life (the so-called Navalny List or Navalny 35).[9][10] Because FSB is widely viewed as controlled by the Russian government, Navalny accused President Vladimir Putin for trying to kill him.[11]
Law enforcement waiting for Navalny at Vnukovo airport at 18 January 2021
Navalny's return and arrest
Navalny return from medical treatment in Germany to Russia on 17 January 2020 and was arrested, which caused an another wave of demonstrations known as Navalny Protests.[12]
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