Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that the participation of many citizens in protests against the arrest of Alexei Navalny is not related to Navalny himself, adding that these protests occurred amid public anger due to the lockdown measures against the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a virtual conference with representatives of various Russian media leaders regarding the protests in Russia on Sunday, Putin said, "This person is being used at this particular time, precisely when people in all countries of the world, including Russia, are getting tired and accumulated irritation is rising, along with dissatisfaction regarding the conditions they live in and their income levels." He added that people are dissatisfied with the decline in their living standards amid the economic crisis caused by the pandemic and blame the leadership for their problems, asserting that this happens whenever the population begins to live worse than before, stating, "This is the fate of presidents... There is nothing you can do about it."
Several Russian cities witnessed unauthorized protests on January 23 and 31, despite numerous warnings from the authorities, including concerns about the risk of contracting COVID-19. The spokesperson for the Russian presidency, Dmitry Peskov, described the organizers of unauthorized actions as provocateurs. The Russian police released most of those detained during demonstrations that occurred in more than 60 Russian cities protesting the arrest of opposition leader Alexei Navalny. The Russian authorities charged the detainees administratively with offenses related to unauthorized protests and opened three criminal cases against some demonstrators accused of assaulting security forces during the protests.
The largest demonstrations took place in the Russian capital Moscow and the country's second-largest city, St. Petersburg, each attended by around 20,000 people, according to the French news agency. It is worth noting that a diplomatic crisis has arisen between Russia and European countries, as the foreign ministries of Poland, Germany, and Sweden issued decisions to expel Russian diplomats from their countries in response to the Russian foreign ministry's decision to expel diplomats from those countries on February 5.
Earlier, the spokesperson for the Russian foreign ministry, Maria Zakharova, explained that Moscow took compulsory measures to expel diplomats from Germany, Sweden, and Poland, following their participation in unauthorized protests. Zakharova stated, "The expulsion of diplomats from Germany, Sweden, and Poland from Russia, who participated in unauthorized protests, was a measure taken by Moscow involuntarily and was forced to implement." She expressed regret that matters had reached this stage, describing it as "unfortunate," emphasizing Moscow's necessity to take these measures concerning the expulsion of diplomats from three EU countries who participated in recent events.
