{"id":11637,"date":"2021-02-03T06:06:07","date_gmt":"2021-02-03T14:06:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/?p=11637"},"modified":"2021-02-03T06:06:07","modified_gmt":"2021-02-03T14:06:07","slug":"kremlin-tries-to-downplay-navalnys-jailing-as-thousands-arrested-the-guardian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/?p=11637","title":{"rendered":"“Kremlin tries to downplay Navalny’s jailing as thousands arrested”, The Guardian"},"content":{"rendered":"

Andrew Roth in Moscow, 3 Feb 2021<\/p>\n

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Brutal crackdown on protesters by riot police follows opposition leader\u2019s 32-month prison sentence<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Police<\/picture>Police detain a protester in Moscow after the opposition leader Alexei Navalny was sentenced.<\/span> Photograph: Mikhail Svetlov\/Getty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The Kremlin has attempted to play down the jailing of the opposition leader Alexei Navalny, saying that his 32-month imprisonment<\/a> will have not have \u201csignificant influence\u201d on Russian politics or lead to a mass protest movement similar to the one in neighbouring Belarus.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, protesters detained at recent rallies in support of Navalny have complained of inhumane conditions as police hold them in overcrowded jails or on buses in subzero temperatures days after their arrest.<\/p>\n

Vladimir Putin\u2019s spokesperson told reporters on Wednesday that Putin had not reacted to Navalny\u2019s speech in a Moscow courtroom, where he said the Russian leader would go down in history as \u201cVladimir Putin, the poisoner of underpants\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think that the convict you\u2019ve mentioned can speak about the place Putin will occupy in history,\u201d said Dmitri Peskov, the spokesperson. \u201cAbsolutely not. This is for the people of the country to say.\u201d<\/p>\n

He went on to say that Putin was too busy with issues such as mortgages that affect \u201cmillions and millions of Russians\u201d to follow the Navalny case. It came to a dramatic conclusion on Tuesday evening as the opposition leader was jailed for allegedly violating his parole.<\/p>\n

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Red Square was closed and Moscow streets were cordoned off before the decision, as thousands of riot police were deployed across the Russian capital to prevent unrest. Still, the Kremlin claims Putin has taken little interest in the case in an apparent effort to downplay Navalny\u2019s importance to the Russian public.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt would be stupid if Putin, instead of [his normal work], listened to speeches by convicts or thought about his place in history,\u201d Peskov said.<\/p>\n

Peskov did address Tuesday\u2019s protests against the Navalny ruling, defending a brutal crackdown by armoured riot police wielding batons that led to more than 1,150 arrests in Moscow alone.<\/p>\n

Tatiana Stanovaya, a political analyst and founder of R.Politik, said that the harsh sentence against Navalny was part of a campaign to \u201cdemonstrate that no move aimed against the security services would remain unpunished\u201d.<\/p>\n

She said the government was ready to weather the backlash to Navalny\u2019s imprisonment, whether it be international condemnation or street demonstrations in Russia.<\/p>\n

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