Navalny’s widow reiterates call for large protest on Russian election day

The widow of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny said on Wednesday that the extent of public support for him since his death is proof that his cause lives on, and called for a massive protest against President Vladimir Putin on the day of the elections.

In a video posted on YouTube, Yulia Navalnaya said she was hopeful for the huge crowd that gathered last week for the funeral of her husband, who died in an Arctic penal colony on February 16. After her burial, supporters submerged her grave in a sea of ​​flowers.

“Looking at you, I am convinced that everything is not in vain, and this thought gives me strength,” she said.

“Now you all know that there are many of us, all of us who love and support Alexei, who share his ideas, and as long as we have each other, this will not end.”

Navalny, in one of his last public messages, called on people to protest against Putin by voting en masse at noon local time in the presidential elections on March 17, forming large crowds and filling polling stations.

Navalnaya accepted her husband’s appeal.

“This is a very simple and safe action, it cannot be banned and it will help millions of people to see like-minded people and realize that they are not alone,” he said. “We are surrounded by people who are also anti-war, anti-corruption and anti-lawlessness.”

The risks are high for both the opposition and the Kremlin.

If the “South against Putin” action fails, it would be a serious blow to Navalnaya’s hopes of taking her husband’s place outside Russia and demonstrating that opposition to the Kremlin is still alive.

But if people heed the call, it could turn into a massive, ongoing protest across Russia’s 11 time zones and pose a dilemma for authorities, as police would have no obvious legal basis to disperse people queuing to vote.

Putin, in power since the last day of 1999 as president or prime minister, will surely have another six years in power. Two potential contenders who spoke out against the war in Ukraine were disqualified from the election on technical grounds, and none of the three remaining candidates are critical of Putin. The Kremlin claims he will win because he enjoys real support across the country, with opinion polls hovering around 80%.

Source: Terra

Rose

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