Day of arrest

What days did you choose earlier for protest promotions? Election Day, Russia Day, Human Rights Day, National Unity Day, and, of course, just days without any reasons. Now the street protest sounded on the day of arrest.

The sentence to Alexei Navalny seemed outrageous and unjustifiably harsh even in our boundless times. For nothing, we usually give us a year or two, and even then more often. Indignation responded with street protest. No one submitted applications for street shares, there were no organizers, grave consultations with the authorities, the framework of metal detectors and corrals for demonstrators. Everything was spontaneous, sincere, worthy and bold.

Even before the announcement of the sentence to Navalny, the news of the “popular gathering”, scheduled for seven in the evening on Manezhnaya Square in Moscow, spread on the Internet. The initiative was picked up in other cities of Russia. The authorities panicked. It was announced that the Manezhnaya Square is urgently closing for planned repairs - they will change the paving slabs. Immediately, a suspicion was born that the old tiles would be picked and put into stacks, provoking demonstrators to clashes with the police. "Tiles - weapons of the proletariat!" The officials of the Moscow authorities made a warning: unauthorized shares will be harshly suppressed by the police.

However, the authorities overdid it and with its inept police measures achieved the effect of the opposite to the desired. They wanted to stop or localize the protest, but received it in all its glory and not on a single Manezhnaya Square, but on all central Moscow streets. Unable to go to Manezhnaya Square fenced with metal fence, protesters filled the sidewalks of Okhotny Ryada, Tverskaya and Mokhovaya streets. The police tried to block the passages in some places, but she did not succeed well-people flowed at police barriers from different sides and even crossed the ester-like row on top. In the Moscow Commercial Center, Moscow closed all exits towards Manezhnaya Square and Okhotny, but for trouble - people found dozens of other ways to circumvent obstacles. It is difficult to fight the people when there are a lot of it, and there are few police!

The people arrived, and soon it became so closely on the sidewalks that it was difficult to pass in other places. People chased “Navalny!”, “Putin thief!”, “Freedom by political prisoners!”, But most often, perhaps, the slogan “Freedom!” Sounded. The police were inactive. The liquid chain of the police stood on the edge of the roadway near the State Duma; The chain is wider - near the Moscow Hotel and the National Hotel.

There is no action plan on spontaneous actions. It all depends on the mood of the audience, on the social atmosphere, and perhaps on a random spark, ready to turn a public protest into revolutionary activity. The Italian journalist standing nearby asked his companion in surprise: “Why don't they block the street? We would have been blocked for a long time! ” Alas, Russia is not Italy, there is already discontent, but there is no determination yet. The authorities, however, voluntarily or involuntarily puts a lot of efforts in order to call the people and move them into decisive actions.

At some point, the audience nevertheless reached the roadway of Tverskaya street, but could not resist for a long time-riot police and police special forces pushed everyone back to the sidewalks. From the windows of the National Hotel, his guests waved to the demonstrators with their hands and photographed what was happening. At one of the windows, almost all evening there were cooks in white clothes and tall cooks and also occasionally welcomed the people standing below.

Scandration continued almost continuously. Welcome beeps from passing cars also sounded continuously. From the windows of cars - from the most modest “Lada” to the most chic “Mercedes” - waved their hands, showed the “V” sign, and stickers and posters in defense of Navalny already flaunted on the glasses of some cars.
The building of the State Duma was covered with the same stickers and posters, and the passing Duma from the Okhotny Ryad was so decorated with stickers that there was no free space on it.
On the main sign of the State Duma, at the central entrance, the penultimate letter “M” was sealed with the letter “P”.

Two hours later, the chanted decreased, but people did not disperse. The police and riot police were increased, but there were no mass detentions. Sometimes here and there someone was detained and taken to police buses. From the roof of the car carrier, riot police stole a fragile girl who did not know how she climbed there and, it seems, was already preparing to light a firefire. By 10 pm, about 30 people were detained, which for an unauthorized rally of 8-10 thousand people by Moscow standards very few. In addition, almost all detainees from the police were very quickly released, limited to an “educational” conversation. Some were not even taken to the branches, but was taken away from the center and released. Everyone returned back.

At exactly 11 pm, the situation changed sharply. The police began to squeeze people out of the center. The chains of riot police and policemen in black uniforms, clinging their hands, began an offensive on Tverskaya, as well as on the willing row and further along Bolshoi Dmitrovka. Fifteen minutes later, finding myself in the rear of the police, I heard the order transferred by the radio: "Detain up those who interfere and rest."

The detentions began. The advancing police chains followed by buses where the detainees dragged. They lingered hard, twisting their hands and dragging along the asphalt. The tactics that had been tried last year on Bolotnaya Square were used - the police cut into the ranks of the retreating in groups, grabbed the victim and dragged it into their bus. The police, mostly, the young children of the age of age were terribly satisfied with, it was written on their faces - it is pleasant to twist adults who do not have active resistance. Almost the game is safe and gambling. Someday they will encounter real resistance and their excitement will decrease. But while they had fun. At the beginning of Bolshoi Dmitrovka, several guys and girls fell on the asphalt, realizing the slogan "We will not leave." The police dragged them to the buses and by the legs.

The buses were filled with detainees and left for police branches. By midnight, the remaining participants in the "people's gathering" gradually gathered at Pushkinskaya. Some of them returned to Manezhnaya Square in the early morning.

Alexei Navalny was released in the morning. The prosecutor's office considered the arrest an excessive measure. I would like to think that liberation from arrest was the result of mass performances in his defense in many Russian cities and abroad. But it is hardly true. It is also unlikely that capture in the courtroom and release the next day is the result of the inconsistency of the actions of various state structures or even the “Clans War”. In the “Navalny case”, most likely, everything to the smallest detail is determined by the will of one person - Vladimir Putin. And this man, who usurped the post of president of Russia, is now sending Navalny the last warning: he can still leave. Navalny clearly showed his near future, which will be inevitable if he does not take advantage of the last chance to hide abroad.

Putin is a simple person. He thinks that the emigration of his opponents is a solution to his political problems. On July 18, in Moscow he was clearly shown how he was mistaken. Thousands of people who went out into the street in defense of Navalny are not emigrated anywhere. They will forever remain the headache of the self -proclaimed president, even if all the opposition figures find themselves in exile.

I only want to hope that the day of someone’s arrest will not be the main reason for protest actions. Due to the lack of reasons themselves.

Photos of Alexander Podrabinka