Russian security forces arrested more than 3,200 people participating in protests across the country’s 11 time zones on Sunday, according to the Associated Press. Most protesters shouted slogans against President Vladimir Putin and demanded the release of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who has been in prison since returning to Russia after being treated for near-fatal poisoning in Germany on January 17. Navalny, 44, blamed the Kremlin for his assassination attempt by putting a nervous agent in his underwear.
The Biden government criticized the crackdown on demonstrators and Navalny’s incarceration. “The US condemns the persistent use of harsh tactics against peaceful protesters and journalists by Russian authorities for the second consecutive week,” wrote US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a tweet. Russia’s Foreign Ministry called Blinken’s tweet “gross interference in Russia’s internal affairs” and accused Washington of trying to destabilize the situation.
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