A local Russian legislator and also preferred YouTuber from the Communist Party who prepares to compete parliament this loss has been apprehended on fees of violating objection rules at a rally on behalf of resistance leader Alexei Navalny.
Nikolai Bondarenko’s coworkers in the Volga region of Saratov say he had gone to the Jan. 31 Navalny demonstrations as a viewer. He is amongst at least 15 people detained in the city of Saratov alone after the mass rallies that resulted in more than 5,600 detentions that day nationwide.
” The authorities have actually long been planning for this, looking for numerous methods to silence Nikolai,” Olga Alimova, the Communist Party’s Saratov local branch leader, created on Facebook on Monday.
Alimova linked Bondarenko’s detention with his specified strategies to run for the lower residence of Russia’s parliament, the State Duma, in September. He is taken into consideration amongst the best challengers to Duma speaker Vyacheslav Volodin, who likewise stands for re-election from the same region.
” Did they attempt to get rid of the political area from a strong competitor?” Alimova asked.
Bondarenko encounters a fine of approximately 20,000 rubles ($ 270) or 40 hours of community service if convicted on charges of breaking protest regulations, according to a policeman recorded by Bondarenko at the station where he is being held. Virtually 400,000 out of his 1.23 million YouTube customers viewed Bondarenko’s stream of his apprehension.
Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov swore to safeguard Bondarenko in court as well as fight for his launch, according to state media.
Bondarenko and fellow Communist deputies showed a banner saying “No to Political Repressions” during Friday’s Saratov local council session.
Bondarenko has actually routinely shot himself arguing with pro-Kremlin replacements throughout Saratov region Duma sessions and also had formerly been restrained for opposing Russia’s debatable transfer to increase the pension plan age.