The authorities refused to hold a memorial march for Navalny and Nemtsov

Moscow authorities refused to hold a march in memory of opposition politicians Alexei Navalny and Boris Nemtsov. Officials referred to “coronavirus restrictions.” This was reported by Andrey Nechaev, head of the “Grazhdanskaya Initiative” party, which applied for the event.

The politician said that the party is waiting for an official written refusal from the authorities. “Grazhdanskaya initiative” was going to hold a memorial march on March 2.

Earlier in Barnaul, the authorities forbade holding a rally in memory of Boris Nemtsov, which they had previously agreed upon. In Novosibirsk, the authorities forbade holding a commemoration of the victims of political repressions at the monument in Narym Square due to the fact that the organizer is allegedly connected with the extremist FBK recognized in Russia.

• Opposition politician Boris Nemtsov was killed on February 27, 2015, on the Bolshoi Moskvoretsky Bridge, 100 meters from the Kremlin. He was shot six times in the back and head. The perpetrators of the murder have not been determined by the investigation. Every year, actions in memory of the murdered politician are held throughout Russia. Before the ban on mass actions during the COVID-19 pandemic, thousands of people came to them. In recent years, the authorities increasingly, under various pretexts, forbid people to gather and honor Nemtsov’s memory.
• Russian authorities announced the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny on February 16. According to FSIN, the politician, who was serving his sentence in the “Polar Wolf” special regime colony, died the day after the walk. A few days before his death, he was sent to the SHIZO for the 27th time with even harsher conditions of detention than in ordinary cells.
• After the news of Navalny’s death in dozens of Russian cities, people began to lay flowers at spontaneous memorials, often at city monuments dedicated to victims of political repression. According to the human rights project “OVD-Info”, the police detained more than 350 people who wanted to honor the memory of the opposition politician.