Tens of thousands of people marched through the Russian city of Khabarovsk on the Chinese border on Saturday to protest the regional governor’s arrest on murder charges, continuing a two-week wave of protests in defiance of the Kremlin.
Sergei Furgal has been in a Moscow jail since his arrest on July 9, and Russian President Vladimir Putin has named an interim successor. The protesters in Khabarovsk consider the charges against Furgal to be unfounded and demand that he be tried at home.
“People are offended,” said Dmitry Kachalin, one of the protesters. “I think people take to the streets because they took away their vote in the 2018 elections.”
Unlike Moscow, where the police generally move quickly to disperse unauthorized opposition protests, the authorities have not interfered with the unauthorized protests in Khabarovsk, apparently hoping they will fade away over time.
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People hold signs saying “Give us back Sergei Furgal, the people’s governor” during an unauthorized protest in support of Sergei Furgal, the governor of the Khabarovsk region, who was interrogated and imprisoned for two months in Khabarovsk, 3,800 miles east of Moscow, Russia, Saturday, July 25, 2020. Thousands of people in the Russian city of Khabarovsk, in the Far East, gather on Saturday to protest the arrest of the region’s governor on participation charges. in multiple murders.
(AP)
But the daily protests, peaking on the weekends, have continued for two weeks, reflecting anger at what local residents see as Moscow’s disrespect for their choice and simmering discontent with the Putin government. Attempts by local officials to discourage people from joining the protests by warning of the risk of coronavirus infection have been unsuccessful.
“We had enough,” said protester Anastasia Schegorina. “We elect the governor and we want to be heard and decide what to do with him.” Bring him here, and a fair and open trial will decide whether or not to convict him. “
Authorities suspect Furgal was involved in several businessmen murders in 2004 and 2005. He has denied the charges, dating back to his time as a businessman with interests focused on wood and metals.
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As a legislator on the Nationalist Liberal Democratic Party ticket, Furgal won the 2018 gubernatorial election despite the fact that he had refrained from campaigning and publicly supported his Kremlin-backed rival.
A man holds a sign saying “Putinizm” during an unauthorized protest in support of Sergei Furgal, the governor of the Khabarovsk region, who was questioned and ordered to remain in jail for two months, in Khabarovsk, 6,100 kilometers (3,800 miles) ) east of Moscow, Russia, Saturday, July 25, 2020.
(AP)
His victory was a humiliating setback for the Kremlin’s main party, United Russia, which also lost control over the regional legislature. During his time in office, Furgal earned a reputation as “people’s governor,” cutting his own salary, ordering the sale of an expensive yacht that the previous administration had bought, and offering new subsidies to the population.
“We want to protect Furgal,” said Evgenia Selina, who joined Saturday’s protest. “If we had not chosen him, he would have been living quietly with his family and working in the State Duma. He would have had a normal life.
Mikhail Degtyaryov, a federal lawmaker whom Putin appointed on Monday to succeed Furgal, is also a member of the Liberal Democratic Party, an option that was apparently intended to allay the anger of local residents. If that was the plan, it hasn’t worked.
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Degtyaryov refrained from confronting protesters and left town on Saturday for an inspection tour of the region.
