Already started

On the evening of January 30, a search began in the premises of the Strategy-31 Organizing Committee in Moscow. The search is being carried out as part of a criminal case under the article “Calls for participation in mass riots.” A little earlier, as part of the same case, a search began in the apartment of the head of the Moscow branch of “The Other Russia” Nikolai Avdyushenkov, who on January 27 was sentenced to a year of probation, in particular, for a leaflet with the slogan “Kill the slave within you!” Avdyushenkov was banned from attending rallies for three years. As reported in blogs, Avdyushenkov is in the premises of the Organizing Committee.

Obviously, these searches are connected with the upcoming action on January 31 on Triumfalnaya Square. The authorities allowed the rally to be held, the notice of which was submitted by a group of human rights defenders and activists led by the head of the Moscow Helsinki Group Lyudmila Alekseeva. At the same time, Alekseeva’s former colleague in “Strategy-31” Eduard Limonov, who planned to hold a procession towards the Kremlin after the action on Triumphalnaya, was denied permission to hold the event. Eyewitnesses write that since the morning of January 30, a car has been on duty at Limonov’s entrance, with police officers sitting inside.
Let us remind you that on December 31, Limonov was detained upon leaving his apartment, when he was just heading to Triumfalnaya. This detention resulted in a fifteen-day period of detention on charges of petty hooliganism, which Limonov did not commit.

As it became known later, during the searches more than 10 people were detained, including Avdyushenkov and minor Victoria Kuznetsova. As Kasparov.Ru reports with reference to the press secretary of the Other Russia, Alexander Averin, the detainees were taken to the Internal Affairs Directorate of the Central Administrative District of Moscow and interrogated as witnesses to the events on Manezhnaya Square on December 11. One of the activists, Igor Berezyuk, was left in custody, the rest were released. A search was also carried out in the apartment of one of the Other Russia activists. As Averin later wrote on his blog, Belarusian citizen Berezyuk was charged with inciting mass riots and injuring a riot policeman (again, we are talking about the events at Manezhnaya).