Moscow
A Kremlin envoy on Monday sought to de-escalate a political crisis as protests against the arrest of a popular governor in far eastern Russia entered a fourth day.
At the weekend, tens of thousands of people poured onto the streets of Khabarovsk some 6,100 kilometres (3,800 miles) east of Moscow to protest the arrest of regional governor Sergei Furgal in a murder probe.
Furgal was detained last week, flown to Moscow and is to be held in custody until early September on charges of ordering the killings of businessmen 15 years ago. Large protests were held over the weekend in Khabarovsk and nearby towns, in what observers said were the first such rallies there in recent decades.
The protests come after President Vladimir Putin, who has been in power for two decades, this month oversaw a constitutional vote that allows him to extend his hold on power until 2036.
Furgal, a member of the nationalist LDPR party, won the governor’s seat from a representative of the ruling party in 2018. On Monday, rallies resumed in Khabarovsk, which is seven hours ahead of Moscow, though on a smaller scale, local activists said.
Putin’s far eastern envoy, Deputy Prime Minister Yury Trutnev, reportedly flew in at the weekend. He said Monday that “people have the right to express their opinion,” state news agency RIA Novosti reported. Trutnev did not appear to meet protesters, however. “Sergei Ivanovich was and is supported by a large number of people,” he acknowledged in reference to the governor. —APP
