Russia detains more than 5,000 at protests backing jailed Kremlin critic Navalny

MOSCOW – Riot police broke up protests across Russia on Sunday in support of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, detaining more than 5,000 people who had braved the bitter cold and the threat of prosecution to demand he be set free. In a massive show of force, police imposed a sweeping security lockdown in the heart of Moscow, sealing off streets to pedestrians near the Kremlin, closing metro stations and deploying hundreds of riot police as snow fell. At one point, a column of protesters marched towards the prison in northern Moscow where Navalny is being held, chanting "Let him go!" In another scene, people in a crowd raised their hands above their heads in front of a row of riot police and chanted "we're not your enemies." Navalny, 44, was arrested on Jan. 17 after returning to Moscow from Germany where he had been recovering from a nerve agent poisoning in Russia last summer. He accuses President Vladimir Putin of ordering his murder, which the Kremlin denies. His dramatic return to Moscow despite the obvious threat of arrest and the second straight weekend of protests at his jailing pose a challenge for Putin who has dominated the Russian political landscape for more than two decades. Yulia, a 40-year-old protester in Moscow, said she had joined the rallies despite having a panic attack the night before because of worrying about repercussions for taking part. "I understand that I live in a totally lawless state. In a police state, with no independent courts. In a country ruled by corruption. I would like to live differently," she said. Protesters oppose police during a rally in support of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny in Moscow on Sunday. AFP-JIJI Police said protesters could face criminal prosecution for attending or calling for an unauthorized demonstration and warned they could spread COVID-19. Navalny's allies used social media to repeatedly change the location of their rally, scattering the crowds over different parts of Moscow and making it harder to disperse. Police put turnout at Sunday's Moscow protest at around 2,000 people. Reuters reporters estimated crowds of several thousand, smaller than last weekend. In St. Petersburg and Moscow police used force to detain protesters and were occasionally seen using tasers. One protester had a bloodied, bandaged head. At least 5,021 people were detained nationwide, including 1,608 in Moscow, according to OVD-Info, a protest monitoring group. Yulia Navalnaya, the Kremlin critic's wife, was among those detained. She was later released. "If we stay quiet, then they could come for any of us tomorrow," she wrote on Instagram before joining the protests. Police in riot gear jog to a position while working to seal off people at a rally in support of jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in Moscow on Sunday. Tens of thousands of people who turned out across Russia on Sunday for a second consecutive weekend rally in support of Navalny were met by police in sometimes brutal clashes. SERGEY PONOMAREV/THE NEW YORK TIMES The protest is a test of Navalny's support after many of his prominent allies were targeted in a crackdown this week. Several, including his brother Oleg, are under house arrest. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned what he said was the persistent use of harsh tactics against peaceful protesters and journalists, and called for Navalny's release. Russia's Foreign Ministry responded by accusing the United States of hypocrisy, meddling and seeking to encourage the protests as part of a strategy to contain Russia. "Everyone knows well what the United States does in those cases — it opens fire to kill," it said. U.K. Foreign Minister Dominic Raab also said Britain condemned the arrests of protesters and journalists, saying in a tweet: "I call on the @GovernmentRF to respect people's right to peaceful protest. #MediaFreedom must be protected." The West has told Moscow to let Navalny go and his allies have appealed to U.S. President Joe Biden to impose sanctions on 35 people who they say are Putin's close allies. Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is seen on a screen via a video link during a court hearing to consider an appeal on his arrest outside Moscow on Thursday. REUTERS In the far eastern city of Vladivostok, video footage showed protesters chanting "Putin is a thief" as they linked hands and marched in temperatures of around minus 13 Celsius (...