The mass protests in the Far East of Russia against the arrest of Governor Sergei Furgal continue despite warnings from the authorities. Even today, numerous people took to the streets in the city of Khabarovsk to demonstrate against Moscow’s action in the case, as reported by Russian agencies. Furgal was arrested two weeks ago.
The investigators accuse the politician of the nationalist party LDPR of being involved in a murder around 15 years ago. The governor of the region has been in custody in Moscow since then and denies the allegations.
The health department urged people to stay at home because of the coronavirus pandemic and not to endanger other residents. Protests are planned again in the next few days.
Last tens of thousands took to the streets
Recently thousands of people gathered in Khabarovsk almost every day. The city is located on the border with China, around 8,000 kilometers east of Moscow. With slogans such as „We are the Far East“ and „Stay away from Furgal“, people criticized Moscow’s influence on the politics of their region. According to observers, up to 85,000 people demonstrated peacefully in Khabarovsk yesterday in the summer heat. It is the biggest protests in the region for years.
Furgal had surprisingly beaten the candidate of the Kremlin United Russia party in the election and taken over the post of governor. According to the LDPR party leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky, a preliminary successor to Furgal as governor should be appointed tomorrow. But if Furgal is released, he should take over the post again, he said.
