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January 31st, 2021 
Awake Goy 
Russian police arrested more than 1,600 people in protests across 35 cities in Russia by supporters of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
Protests are taking place in multiple Russian cities, from Siberia and Russia’s far east to St Petersberg and the capital, Moscow, in the biggest show of public dissent in Russia in years.
“My Russia is in prison!” a dozen demonstrators gathered in Vladivostok chanted, according to images published by the local branch of the organization of the Russian opposition leader.
“There are few people this time because the police and the riot police had blocked the place in advance,” 25-year-old protester Andrei said. “But as you can see, no one is afraid”.
Other chants targetted Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Over 1,000 were detained by police, according to a monitoring group, across Russia’s 11 time zones. The largest number of arrests came in Moscow, AFP reported.
Meanwhile, prominent associates of Navalny have been detailed along with opposition journalists, and in St. Petersberg barriers have been erected to deter protesters.
Navalny’s arrest on January 17 sparked nationwide protests last week in about 100 cities, with nearly 4,000 people reportedly arrested.
His arrest came as he tried to enter the country after flying back from Germany, where he had spent five months recovering from nerve-agent poisoning.
Lubyanka Square
Sunday’s demonstration in Moscow was planned for Lubyanka Square, where the Federal Security Service that Navalny claims committed the poisoning is headquartered. But due to huge police presence it was relocated to another public square a mile away.
Last week’s protests were the largest and most widespread in many years, and authorities aim to prevent a repeat.
Police conducted a series of raids this week at apartments and offices of Navalny’s family, associates and anti-corruption organization.
His brother Oleg, top aide Lyubov Sobol and three other people were put under two-month house arrest on Friday, as part of a criminal probe into alleged violations of coronavirus regulations during last weekend’s protests.
Irina Volk, a spokeswoman for the Interior Ministry that runs Russia’s police, also cited the pandemic in a Saturday warning against protests.
She said participants found in violation of epidemiological regulations could face criminal charges.
Navalny fell into a coma on August 20 while on a domestic flight from Siberia to Moscow and was transferred to a Berlin hospital two days later.
Labs in Germany, France and Sweden, and tests by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, established that he was exposed to the Soviet-era Novichok nerve agent.
Russian authorities have refused to open a full-fledged criminal inquiry, citing a lack of evidence that he was poisoned.
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