7 November: Presnensky district court, Moscow. Source: Protest Moscow. We continue our partnership with OVD-Info, an NGO that monitors politically-motivated arrests in Russia. Every Friday, we bring you the latest information on freedom of assembly.
This week’s update is dedicated to what happened on 5 November, the day of the “revolution” promised by Russian nationalist politician Vyacheslav Maltsev and what happened in the days after.
On 5 November, 484 people were detained throughout Russia: in Moscow, 404 were detained, including 22 after attending the latest in the series of Adam Smith Lectures at the Higher School of Economics, at least 20 playing Pokémon Go, and a young man with disabilities travelling on a push-scooter.
In St Petersburg, police detained 21 people, of whom eight were spectators at the Festival of Light and three who are supporters of the reorganisation of St Petersburg and Leningrad region into an “Autonomous Republic of Free Ingriya.” According to the latter three, during their detention, a pistol with bullets, a grenade and a Molotov cocktail were planted in their car. Currently, travel restrictions have been imposed on them, and a criminal investigation on charges of “possession of weapons by a group of people” has been opened.
