Navalny calls on his supporters to mobilize before the parliamentary elections / Article

Imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny on Tuesday called on his supporters to mobilize ahead of the parliamentary elections.

Navalny issued the call the day after Russia’s information technology and mass communications monitoring service, Roskomnadzor, blocked access to 49 websites related to Navalny, including his main site. “navalny.com“.

Smart voting tactics

Navalny’s allies predict that the authorities will soon turn against Smart Voting website, which promotes voting for candidates most likely to defeat Kremlin-affiliated politicians. Thanks to this tactic, the ruling party “United Russia” has lost several seats in the recent local elections.

Russia is due to hold parliamentary elections in September.

In a message from prison, Navalny called on his supporters to download the Smart Voting application, which allows users to read content from his now blocked main website.

“What an interesting experiment,” said Navalny, referring to Roskomnadzor’s decision. “Let’s take part in it and join the United Russia, the Kremlin and Roskomnadzor.”

“As they say, you can spit on people, but what will you do if all people spit on you?” said Navalny in a message on his social media accounts managed by his team.

You are also about to block your YouTube channel

Leonid Volkov, a close ally of Navalny, said on Tuesday that Roskomnadzor had also tried to block Navalny, his campaign office and several allied channels on YouTube.

YouTube has become one of the most visible platforms that Navalny uses to publicize the results of corruption investigations.

YouTube’s film about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s palace on the Black Sea has been viewed 118 million times since January. Putin denies that the castle belongs to him.

In June, a Moscow court declared Navalny-affiliated organizations extremist, preventing their members from running in any election.

On February 2, Navalny was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for violating the terms of a suspended prison sentence imposed on him in 2014 while receiving treatment in Germany after poisoning with the war substance “Novičok”.

There are regular raids on Navalny, his associates and his affiliates.

CONTEXT:

Kremlin opposition Navalny detained January at Moscow airport a moment after he had returned from Germany, where he was treated after poisoning by “Novičok”. A Russian court ruled that the suspended prison sentence imposed on Navalny in 2014 should be replaced by a real custodial sentence. His planned to be imprisoned until 2023. in the middle of the year. Navalny and his supporters believe the accusations are politically motivated.

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