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In Pictures: Russians show Valentine’s Day support for Navalny

Navalny was detained after his arrival to Moscow from Germany, where he was flown to recover from a nerve agent poison.

Participants form a human chain during a demonstration to support female political prisoners and to protest against police violence in Saint Petersburg [Anton Vaganov/Reuters]
Published On 14 Feb 202114 Feb 2021
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Supporters of opposition leader Alexey Navalny held candle-lit gatherings in residential courtyards across Russia on Sunday despite warnings that they could be arrested.

Navalny’s allies have declared a moratorium on street rallies until spring in Russia after police detained thousands of people in the past few weeks at protests against the opposition politician’s arrest and imprisonment.

But they urged Russians to show solidarity with Navalny by gathering outside their homes for 15 minutes on Valentine’s Day evening, shining their mobile phone torches and arranging candles in the shape of a heart.

People on social media posted pictures of themselves holding candles or phones with flickering flashlights across Russia, including in the Eastern Siberia city of Irkutsk, Yekaterinburg in the Urals mountains and Novosibirsk in Western Siberia.

However, the vigils were mostly small and sporadic, unlike the huge street protests in recent weeks.

Navalny was arrested last month on his return from Germany following treatment for poisoning with what many Western countries say was a nerve agent. He was jailed on February 2 for violating parole on what he said were trumped-up charges.

He has blamed President Vladimir Putin for the poisoning, and Western countries are considering new sanctions against Russia. The Kremlin has denied any involvement in Navalny’s poisoning.

“Putin is fear. Navalny is love. That’s why we will win,” Leonid Volkov, one of Navalny’s close allies, wrote on Twitter in a call for people to gather on Sunday.

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Volkov, who is based in Lithuania, is one of several Navalny allies now abroad or under house arrest in Russia.

He urged people to flood social media with pictures of Sunday’s gatherings – a new venture for the opposition that resembles political actions in neighbouring Belarus – using the hashtag #loveisstrongerthanfear in Russian.

Another activist called on women to form a human chain in Moscow on Sunday afternoon in support of Navalny’s wife Yulia, who was reported to have flown to Germany this week, and other women affected by the police crackdown against protesters.

More than 100 women turned up at the Arbat in central Moscow to form the chain, braving bitter cold and holding a white ribbon measuring more than 100 metres long.

“I really hope it will change things for the better, I sincerely want it,” a woman in the chain in Moscow said.

Another smaller chain was formed in St Petersburg.

There were no large-scale arrests or clashes with the police.

People shine their mobile phone torches in support of jailed opposition leader Alexey Navalny and his wife Yulia Navalnaya near Red Square, Moscow. [Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP Photo]
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The weekend protests in many cities during the last month against Navalny’s detention represented the largest outpouring of popular discontent in years. [Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP Photo]
Supporters of Russian opposition politician Alexey Navalny pose for a picture while shining their mobile phone torches in a residential courtyard during a gathering on Valentine's Day outside Saint Petersburg. [Anton Vaganov/Reuters]
Supporters of Navalny arrange candles in the shape of a heart in a residential courtyard during a gathering on Valentine's Day in Omsk. [Alexey Malgavko/Reuters]
Russian law enforcement agencies on Thursday said that people taking part in unsanctioned rallies could face criminal charges. [Pavel Golovkin/AP Photo]
Rights groups have accused police of using disproportionate force against protesters in recent weeks. The Kremlin has denied repression by police and says the protests were illegal because they were not approved and risked spreading the coronavirus. [Pavel Golovkin/AP Photo]
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Supporters of Navalny urged Russians to show solidarity with the opposition leader by gathering outside their homes for 15 minutes on Valentine's Day evening, shining their mobile phone torches. [Maxim Shemetov/Reuters]
The weekend protests in scores of cities last month over Navalny’s detention appeared to have rattled the Kremlin. [Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP Photo]
Navalny's allies urged people to flood social media with pictures of Sunday's gatherings. [Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP Photo]


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