Russian police raided the apartments of opposition leaders on the eve of a major protest to be staged against President Vladimir Putin. Armed security forces stood guard outside as investigators swept through the apartments of anti-corruption blogger Alexei Navalny, left-wing leader Sergei Udaltsov, and other activists, confiscating computer drives and documents.
“They practically cut out the door,” said Navalny, one of the rally’s organizers, who noted on Twitter that police had seized “discs with the children’s photos”. The raid suggests that the government is embracing a harder line against dissent as Putin begins his third presidential term. Opposition politician Sergei Mitrokhin said the searches indicated that Putin was not likely to pursue serious reforms. “Putin has stopped even imitating democracy,” he told Ekho Moskvy radio.
Via Reuters.
