Sorry, without a guide

Supporters of the boycott of the elections unauthorized walked in the center of St. Petersburg. Report "Medusa"

At least three thousand supporters of the boycott of the presidential election were reached on January 28 to the campaign in support of the “voter strikes” in St. Petersburg (according to Medusa). The action was unauthorized, but the police practically did not interfere with its participants, only several times burned out. As a result, activists walked around the historical center of St. Petersburg for almost five hours. Detained, according to various sources, from 10 to 20 people.

A few minutes before the alleged start of the action in St. Petersburg, several riot police fighters got out of their buses in complete uniforms-to smoke before work. At least two thousand people have gathered at least two thousand people on the square of the proletarian dictatorship - next to the administrations of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region. They had banners in their hands, leaflets with the following content were handed out in the crowd: “A strike, Putin - a thief, Navalny - President, Down with the Tsar!” Police lined up around the perimeter of the square.

Some activists were detained in advance. On the way to the action, the police stopped the activist of the local opposition movement "Vesna" Bogdan Litvin and the journalist Radio Liberty Arseniy Lupin: they were taken away "to establish a personality," they were taken to the police and kept several hours. Dmitry Myakshin, a former schoolboy, who was accused of applying police officers, was also detained before the action-the case will still be investigated.

The crowd went towards Tverskaya Street - on an unauthorized “protest walk”. “So that, as in Moscow, also in Tverskaya,” the supporters of the boycott of the election talked among themselves. From the police radio immediately sounded: "We block Tverskaya, quickly!" And soon, in the way of the demonstrators, blue and white trucks with the inscriptions "OMON" and "Police" stood.

"Build, build, quickly!" - the commanders shouted to their subordinates. “There are few of us here, we will not be able to block the whole street, they all calmly pass between us,” one of the fighters said quietly in response. Finally, the police completed the reconnaissance, blocking several elderly women from all sides on all sides.

“It was not ordered to let anyone in, we have an order, the elder ordered,” the policeman said from a cordon.

- Yes, my elder has already allowed me, I need to be for medicines! - the woman demanded.

- That's when he tells us - for medicines, then you will go to your pharmacy.

The window of the house opposite opened, and a giant rubber yellow duck appeared in it - in St. Petersburg it was remembered, the police nearly took it at the protest promotion of the supporters of Alexei Navalny on the Marse Field in June 2017. The appearance of the duck was a pure impromptu: it turned out that its owner lives in the path of participants in the action.

Police on Tverskaya moved to the protesters. The journalists who were running at this were blocked. The journalist of Rain, Evgeny Zobnin, was greatly struck on the back, detained, brought to a car carrier, but they did not even plant inward - and released. Another participant in the action at all managed to recapture, and the police - this time, apparently, did not have an order to detain everyone - retreated to chanting: "Shame!"

Snowballs flew into the police, and then several stones. About 20 riot police immediately ran towards the arch of the house, from where the stones flew. Nobody managed to detain them - the throwing ran through the passage yards. “It could be both provocateurs and their own, but crazy,” Maxim Reznik suggested the deputy of the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg.

"In Odessa!" - several activists shouted at once, and the crowd began to turn on it with the blocked Tverskaya. There were even more people on the street at that moment, at least three thousand people. No one knew where to go, the route was chosen right on the go.

"To the Tauride [palace]!" Shouted, almost tearing her voice, a short girl with green hair, she tried to coordinate the protest. "Will we convene our constituent assembly there?" -Ironized the walks (the Constituent Assembly really sat in the Tauride Palace in 1917-1918).

“Now we are going to the crossing of the foundry and trellis,” the girl continued to lead people in no way.

“There is a“ big house ”, the FSB building actually,” they answered her.

“Oh,” she said involuntarily.

The protesters, however, reached the FSB building, turned onto the foundry of the avenue. The carriageway was already blocked by snowpocking machines. Participants in the action decided to bypass the overlapping of courts.

"You sold to the Americans, this is your Navalny - a traitor!" - the elderly woman attacked the demonstrators. "The fourth term is prison!" - shouted back to her.

So protesters, constantly encouraged by bundles of passing cars, passed through a significant part of the historical center of St. Petersburg. “It’s a pity, without a guide,” they even complained in the crowd. Supporters of Navalny walked past the Tauride Garden, the Mokhova Theater, the Ciniselli circus on Fontanka, the Mikhailovsky Palace, the Engineering Castle, the Temple of the Savior on the Blood, Kazan Cathedral. Only Palace Square remained, but the police blocked the way in the helmets there.

Only five hours later the protesters began to diverge. Someone returned to Nevsky Prospekt and headed towards the nearest metro stations, a small group reached the Moscow station-people with banners were a little crazy here and went to bask their homes.

In total, during the action, the police detained ten people, and eight of them were immediately released. According to Fontanka, about 20 people were detained.

Maxim Yarygin, "Echo of Moscow in St. Petersburg"