Some 240 women held on to a long white ribbon to form a human chain on an iconic pedestrianized street in an opposition-backed stunt to support “female political prisoners” and the wife of the jailed protest leader Alexey Navalny.
Sunday’s protest in Arbat Street coincided with Valentine’s Day, and saw the participants carrying flowers and inflatable red hearts. They also handed out sweets to passersby, along with Valentine’s messages saying, “Love is stronger than fear.”
The women told reporters the “chain of solidarity” was aimed at showing support to those they referred to as “female political prisoners” detained in Russia.
Вся «Цепь солидарности» ан Арбате, от начала до конца.
Many of the younger participants struggled to name any “imprisoned” women in particular, however, while others mentioned Navalny’s wife Yulia and his close associate Lyubov Sobol (neither of whom are in jail), as well as Pussy Riot activist Maria Alekhina.
Yulia Navalnaya left the country for Germany earlier this week. Her husband was sentenced in early February to two-and-a-half years behind bars for parole violations. Sobol was placed under house arrest for two months for calling for protests in violation of Covid-19 restrictions.
The unsanctioned gathering in central Moscow passed off without any significant police presence, and saw no incidents or arrests. After the action ended, a woman seemingly overseeing the action rolled up the white ribbon, and the protesters collected all the litter they left in the street.
A similar “chain of solidarity” was formed on Sunday in Russia’s northern capital of St. Petersburg. The rally saw 70 people taking part and was also peaceful.
Moscow and St. Petersburg have seen heated protests, with clashes and arrests over two weekends, after Navalny was arrested at the airport on his return to Russia from Berlin in mid-January. The anti-corruption activist spent five months in Germany recovering from what he insists was a poisoning attempt masterminded by the Kremlin – an accusation flatly denied by the Russian authorities, who say no proof of poisoning has been provided by Berlin, despite repeated requests.
Following several illegal protests ending in mass arrests, Navalny’s associates called on supporters to refrain from taking to the streets and to delay rallies until at least the spring. However, this week they announced a slight change of tactics, urging people to stage small, localized demonstrations by going out into their backyards and using a torch, a candle, or the light on their phone to show their discontent with the government, mirroring one of the stunts of the protesters in neighboring Belarus.
Photos showing small groups of torch-wielding people in the snow have since appeared on social media.
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