Vigils
The BBC is wall to wall Navalny right now, which is appropriate. Photos of vigils in Tbilisi, Berlin, Riga, Lisbon, London.
Candles and flowers are being laid for Alexei Navalny outside the Russian embassy in London. Some of the Russians that I’ve spoken to at the vigil have been fighting back tears as they speak to me. The sentiment is mixed.
One woman, who asked to go by the name Erika, tells me: “We still have hope for a better future for Russia. Even without him, his dream lives on. We continue to fight.” But for another, the dream is over. “I feel very sad because nobody should be treated like he was treated. It’s against humanity There is no more hope for the future of Russia,” says Anna.
Moscow, on the other hand, says don’t even think about it.
Moscow city authorities have warned people against public demonstrations in the Russian capital following the news of the death of opposition figure Alexei Navalny.
In a statement reported by Russian news agencies, the city’s prosecutor’s office notes a number of online calls for a “mass rally”, and says it “considers it necessary to warn against violating the law”.
Russian law requires organisers to seek permission from the authorities for any mass assembly.
So no protesting the authorities then. Got it.
The link to BBC is actually to an ACLU tweet.
Oops, thank you, fixed.
I understand that the prison is conducting an investigation into his death. I’m sure it will be thorough and impartial, just as I’m sure the Easter Bunny will be spreading eggs throughout our house come Easter.
Russian authorities have always been murdering bullies, like the Soviets before them. Which is not a statement about the Russian people, to be fair. I’d sooner trust my hand in a shaken box of scorpions than any Russian official.
Don’t think the Tsarists were any better… Nope, I think it’s fair to say the Russian ruling class has always been murdering bullies, and it’s something that’s informed what the peasants are like. No pogrom like a Russian pogrom and all that…