| 2021 Russian election protests | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Part ofopposition to Vladimir Putin in Russia | |||
.jpg) A demonstration at thePushkinskaya Square,Moscow, on 25 September 2021. | |||
| Date | 20 September 2021 – late October 2021 | ||
| Location | |||
| Caused by |
| ||
| Goals |
| ||
| Methods | |||
| Status | Ended | ||
| Parties | |||
| |||
| Lead figures | |||
| Number | |||
| Casualties | |||
| Arrested | 100 detainees[9] | ||
The2021 Russian election protests, also known as the"For Fair Elections" protests,[10][11] began in September 2021 due to alleged large-scaleelectoral fraud of the2021 Russian legislative election.
On the night of September 20, the day after the end of the2021 Russian legislative election,Valery Rashkin, the head of the Moscow City Committee of theCommunist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF), organized a protest against fraud in the format of a meeting with a deputy.[12] At least 200 people took part in the action, including the losing opposition candidates Mikhail Lobanov, Denis Parfenov,Sergei Obukhov, Mikhail Tarantsov, and Marina Litvinovich; the latter also made slogans in support ofAlexei Navalny, who is in prison.[13] Rashkin promised that street actions would take place every week until the results of remote electronic voting are canceled.[citation needed]
On 25 September, protests continued inMoscow,[14][15][16]Saratov,[17]Yekaterinburg,[18]Ufa,[19]Volgograd,[20] and other cities of the country. The day before the rally, thepolice cordoned off the building of the Moscow City Committee of the CPRF,[21][22] and detained a number of communists,[23] including the coordinator of theLeft FrontSergei Udaltsov.[24] The police used propaganda machines against the protesters, trying to drown out the speakers' speeches with loud music.[25]
CPRF leaderGennady Zyuganov did not come to the protest, as he was meeting with Russian presidentVladimir Putin at that time,[26]Meduza's sources in thePresidential Administration and the CPRF claim that he raised the issue of canceling the results of remoteelectronic voting in Moscow toAnton Vaino,Sergey Kiriyenko, andSergey Sobyanin, but they made it clear that no one would do this, after which Zyuganov is trying to achieve a more favorable distribution of leadership positions for the CPRF in thenew convocation of theState Duma.[27]
On 28 September, thepolice came to the lawyers of the CPRF who were going to file lawsuits appealing the results of the DEG.[28] TheKremlin said it was not aware of this.[29]
The police also blocked the reception of the State Duma deputy from the CPRFIvan Melnikov,[30] who called these actions acriminal offense and said that he had filed an appeal to the head of theMinistry of Internal AffairsKolokoltsev.[31]
On 29 September, in protest against the results of the DEG and repressions against the participants of the protests,[32][33] theMoscow City Duma deputies from the CPRF decided to boycott the session.[34][35]
Leonid Volkov, an associate of the opposition leaderAlexei Navalny, said that thanks to the protests the CPRF returned the status of an opposition party.[36] At a meeting with Putin, far-rightLDPR leaderVladimir Zhirinovsky condemned the protests, calling them a "riot".[37][38]
Dozens of protesters were brought to administrative responsibility and arrested.[39][40]
