russian police have made hundreds of
arrests as supporters of jailed
opposition figure alexei navalny have
taken to the streets in large protests
nationwide his wife julia navalnya has
been detained after marching for his
release
at an anti-government protest in moscow
on instagram miss navalneya posted a
picture of herself
taken in a police van taken near the
kremlin
she was one of tens of thousands
protesting perceived kremlin corruption
and the wrongful arrest of her husband
with chance of putin as a criminal and
freedom for navalny
thousands of demonstrators are rallying
throughout russia
government officials say at least four
thousand people gathered in moscow's
square independent observers put that
number at more than ten times that
police have detained hundreds of
participants at the unsanctioned
demonstration
including prominent supporters of alexey
navalny like his aide
lubov sobel
[Music]
the jailed opposition leader called for
the demonstrations after he was arrested
at a moscow airport
and quickly sentenced to 30 days in jail
most organizers didn't apply for permits
expecting they wouldn't be granted
and ahead of the protest authorities
warned security forces would be deployed
citing concerns about the covet pandemic
refrain from participating i have to
warn that law enforcement agencies will
ensure that the necessary order is kept
in the city
more than 1 000 people have been
detained throughout the country as part
of the largest opposition action in
years
seen as a test of strength in alexis
navalny's battle with the kremlin
well our moscow correspondent emily
sherwin is in central moscow emily it's
been some hours now since protesters
started gathering what's happening where
you are now
well you might be able to hear the crowd
behind me and around me chanting
they're chanting putin is a thief that's
one of the
chants that we've been hearing
throughout the day people have been kind
of
gathering in different parts of the
center walking along one of
moscow's central streets here that leads
up to the kremlin
where the police blocked the road
they've been kind of walking back and
forth and now they've gathered on a
smaller square
they don't seem to want to go home um
we've been hearing uh
for from people that they are calling
for navalny to be freed of course the
point of this protest today is that
just that but many people here told me
that
really what happened this week with
navain with his arrest
also with the video that his team
published showing
vladimir putin's alleged palace
that that is basically just the last
straw for them
and they just want um to have a better
life to
live in a better country and um to
improve the
own can their own the conditions of
their own lives essentially
emily as we heard alexa navalny's wife
julia has been detained
what does she represent to protesters
well i think throughout this whole
the last few months especially since
alexey navain was poisoned
she's really gained significance here in
russia
everyone knew who she was before as well
but i think
the images of her kind of at the
hospital in olms where she had just
found out that most likely her husband
had been poisoned
the way she stayed
strong as many people here say stayed
tough
that has gotten people's attention and
some people here have even been talking
about the fact that
perhaps she could try to run in the
upcoming duma elections
which are scheduled to take uh place in
september
especially if alexei navalny remains in
prison
he awaits a sentence in a few weeks
emily the protesters remain behind you
despite the arrests
will this display though vast and
determined as it seems
change anything for mr navalny
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well i think throughout after his
poisoning after alexey navalny's
poisoning
after the fact that he returned to
russia despite the threat of arrest
which the authorities here made very
clear
and despite the fact that he was
arrested his significance
has only grown here in russia
throughout the last few months and we've
seen that on the streets of moscow here
today
with thousands of people taking to the
streets who
aren't going away and who are now
chanting
one for all and all for one um in
support of alexey navalny
it does seem that his significance after
all of that has only grown
people have been watching in the
millions the newest investigation that
his team
published into vladimir putin's alleged
alleged riches and i think
that is certainly an inconvenience and a
problem for the kremlin going forward
emily we've been looking at live
pictures of the protesters who
to this point refused to go home is it
of a greater surprise to you the number
of protesters
or just how determined they are to stay
and get their message across
well i would say having been to um
various
authorized and unauthorized protests
opposition protests in the last few
years
the size of this protest and also the
determination
of the protesters not to go home despite
the massive arrests
has surprised me and it does show
a new sense of determination and as
people here have been saying to me
despite the huge police presence which
you might be able to see
also more and more police officers
arriving
they aren't afraid they say navain was
not afraid to come back to moscow
even after he was poisoned as he says by
the security forces himself
and now they say they aren't afraid
either and just quickly before we go
emily how much of a threat is navalny
to putin and the kremlin at this point
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okay sorry there's been a bit of a rush
with the riot police now moving i think
we're going to have to
move out of the way one protester is
being arrested
um
you may be able to see the police
has been treating protesters rather
violently they just stopped what they
were doing
because they saw that we were filming
most likely
but you can see that there's a police
line
over here just right behind me and
behind that police line there are still
protesters they've only managed to now
clear
part of this square behind me and people
are shouting
we are the power here really kind of
taking back the streets here in the
center of moscow despite
the fact that the police here are um
dispersing protesters and despite the
fact that the authorities have
emphasized that this protest is not
authorized
emily sherwin in moscow right in the
middle of the action thank you so much