Russian police raided dozens of offices and homes on Thursday, all of which were tied to the opposition activists behind mass protests this summer and prominent Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.

The raids came just four days after allies of President Vladimir Putin suffered major losses in local elections, particularly in Moscow. Navalny and many other opposition politicians had been barred from running, but he proposed his supporters vote strategically to reduce the number of Kremlin-backed lawmakers in the Moscow city parliament, a strategy that appears to have worked.

"This is not only offices and apartments of coordinators but also the homes of employees and volunteers," said Leonid Volkov, a close aide of Navalny's.

"The overall number of searches is over 150 and no less than 1,000 Russian law enforcement employees were involved," Volkov wrote on Twitter.

Navalny's spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh called the raids "an act of intimidation…to confiscate our material and paralyze our work."

On top of barring some members of the opposition from contesting the elections, Russian officials have also launched a criminal probe into Navalny's Foundation for Fighting Corruption (FBK), accusing the group of money laundering.

Navalny, who has achieved fame criticizing Putin on social media and the streets, has repeatedly been the target of what are believed to be politically motivated criminal investigations. The European Court of Human Rights has called his convictions for financial crimes "arbitrary and unfair."

Protests in Moscow called by Navalny Weekly protests Protesters gathered in Moscow to reject the barring of some opposition and independent candidates from the Moscow City Council election on September 8. For the past month, demonstrators have shown their discontent on a weekly basis.

Protests in Moscow called by Navalny Freedom for political prisoners Opposition politician Alexei Navalny's team organized the demonstration. The opposition leader was just recently released from a 30-day jail sentence for holding unsanctioned protests. In addition to rallying for banned candidates, marchers were also seen holding placards demanding freedom for political prisoners

Protests in Moscow called by Navalny Demands 'right and reasonable' Lyubov Sobol (right), an associate of Navalny and one of those whose candidacy had been rejected, took part in the demonstrations. "Our demands are right and reasonable. We have significant support, we have the right to be on the ballot," Sobol said. "I want political rights of Muscovites to be respected."

Protests in Moscow called by Navalny Unauthorized assembly The police have been criticized for their handling of the protests, which have seen some 2,000 people arrested. This time, officers did not try to detain protesters, but asked them to leave through loudspeakers. The march, like many, had not been authorized to take place, a legal requirement in Russia in recent years.

Protests in Moscow called by Navalny High political tension in Russia Some clashes took place at the march between demonstrators and others seeking to disrupt the demos. Moscow's city council has relatively little power and its election does not usually garner this much attention. But the candidates' disqualification touched a nerve with citizens' frustration with their country's restrictive politics. Author: Jenipher Camino Gonzalez



es/sms (AFP, Reuters)

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