History

Navalny had been hospitalized on 20 August 2020, in serious condition after he was poisoned with a Novichok nerve agent during a flight from Tomsk to Moscow. He was medically evacuated to Berlin and discharged on 22 September. The use of a Novichok nerve agent was confirmed by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). Though the Kremlin denied involvement in his poisoning, the EU and the UK responded by imposing sanctions on six senior Russian officials and a state chemical centre. Navalny accused president Vladimir Putin of being responsible for his poisoning. An investigation by Bellingcat and The Insider implicated agents from the Federal Security Service (FSB) in Navalny’s poisoning.

Navalny returned to Russia on 17 January 2021, where he was immediately detained on accusations of violating terms of a suspended jail sentence. Prior to his return, the Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) said that Navalny may face jail time upon his arrival in Moscow for violating the terms of his probation, saying it would be “obliged” to detain him once he returned; in 2014, Navalny received a suspended sentence in the Yves Rocher case, which he called politically motivated and in 2017, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Navalny was unfairly convicted. The Investigative Committee of Russia also said that it was investigating Navalny for alleged fraud. A court decision the next day ordered the detention of Navalny until 15 February for violating his parole. A makeshift court was set up in the police station where Navalny was being held. Another hearing would later be held to determine whether his suspended sentence should be replaced with a jail term. Navalny described the procedure as “ultimate lawlessness”. He also called on his supporters to take to the streets, saying: “Do not be silent. Resist. Take to the streets – not for me, but for you”. Navalny’s regional network head, Leonid Volkov, said that preparations were being made for protests to be organised across the country on 23 January.

While in jail, an investigation by Navalny and his Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) was published on 19 January, accusing Putin of corruption involving the construction of a palace by the Black Sea known as “Putin’s Palace”. The video of the investigation also urged people to take to the streets. Before the protests had begun, the video on YouTube received over 60 million views. By the next day the state communications watchdog Roskomnadzor was demanding the social networks VKontakte (VK) and TikTok to stop the spread of calls to the protests. The efficacy of these calls[clarification needed] is disputed.

Arrests of several of Navalny’s aides and allies, including Lyubov Sobol, began on 21 January. Several were jailed or fined on charges of disobeying police orders or organizing a public event without notifying the authorities, with Sobol being fined and released. The Ministry of Internal Affairs also threatened to prosecute those spreading calls to join the protests. The Prosecutor General’s Office also ordered the censor, Roskomnadzor, to block access to pages that call for unauthorized rallies. On 22 January, the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for Moscow issued a statement warning against calls to the protests or participation in them. It stated that any attempts to hold unauthorized events as well as “provocative actions by the participants” would be regarded as a “threat to public order” and be “immediately suppressed”. Social media networks began removing information about the protests. VK blocked access to a number of pages on the protests, with the pages stating that it was blocked on the requirement of the General Prosecutor’s Office. Roskomnadzor also stated that VK, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube blocked some content which involved “calls for children to participate in illegal mass events”. However, Facebook and YouTube have countered this claim. Facebook said it “received requests from the local regulator to restrict access to certain content that calls for protest. Since this content doesn’t violate our Community Standards, it remains on our platform.”

Protests in Russia began on 23 January 2021 in support of the opposition leader Alexei Navalny after he was immediately detained upon returning to Russia after being sent to Germany for treatment following his poisoning the previous year. Days before protests began, a film by Navalny and his Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) called Putin’s Palace, which revolves around the connection between president Vladimir Putin and a palace allegedly being built for him, was released.

On the first day, protests were held in 198 towns and cities across Russia in what were one of the largest anti-government demonstrations since protests were held against the results of legislative elections in 2011 and Putin’s re-election in 2012. Unsanctioned by the authorities, the protests were met with police crackdowns, with thousands detained. As a result, Navalny’s team announced a suspension of street protests on 4 February, stating that they would focus on legislative elections that would be held later in the year, and later announcing a shift from street protests to courtyard protests to avoid direct confrontation with police. In response to Navalny’s deterioration of health while in prison, street protests were held again on 21 April for the last time.

Despite the protests, Navalny’s suspended sentence of three and a half years was replaced with a prison sentence on 2 February. Following the protests, the Moscow prosecutor’s office on 16 April formally requested the Moscow City Court to designate organizations linked to Navalny including the FBK and his headquarters as extremist organizations, claiming: “Under the disguise of liberal slogans, these organizations are engaged in creating conditions for the destabilization of the social and socio-political situation.” On 9 June, the organizations were designated as extremist and liquidated by the court. In March 2022, Navalny was sentenced to an additional nine years in prison after being found guilty of embezzlement and contempt of court in a new trial.