The Familiar of the Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been detained in Moscow: Leonid Volkov has organized numerous protests and election campaigns. The prison is nothing New for him. A Portrait.
It was early Tuesday morning: Leonid Volkov had just stopped a Taxi on the way to his office in Moscow, as police officers, the car and the opposition politicians arrested. “We have long been waiting for you”, should be one of the officials said to him. The at least tweeted Alexei Navalny about his comrades-in-arms.
Apparently, the police officer played on Wolkows several months abroad stay. Exactly the should exonerate him in court, because at the time of the protests, because he had to answer, was he even in Russia. But the stamp in his passport were not enough to discharge: Volkov must for 20 days in jail, because the court found that he had called for riots.
Watch the Video 00:34
Volkov expects a prison sentence
Done, he should be protesting this in September, 2017, in the Russian capital, thousands against raising the retirement age. Volkov moderated the Live broadcast of the rally on the Internet. So he should have protesters put her up to it to scratch a car.
The 38-year-old Volkov is regarded as a close Confidant and campaign Manager of the Russian opposition leader Navalny. In addition, it is widely used Manager for Navalny’s “Foundation against corruption” (FBK), an NGO that, among other things, lavishly produced revelation Videos on the corruption of the Russian elites through various channels on the Internet.
Several European politicians have criticised Wolkows arrest. The MEP Elmar Brok (CDU), called them to the DW a try, “to take the Opposition of the air to Breathe.” The Russia-coordinator in the foreign office, Dirk Meadow by the SPD, announced on Wednesday on DW-demand: “freedom of Assembly is an important democratic right. It participated in the peaceful protests against the pension reform in September to a large number of solid and this number is increasing now, months later, once again, does not appear to be comprehensible and disproportionate.”
From the party founder to the campaign Manager
Volkov is likely to be accustomed to such measures. In the past few years, he had to, like Navalny, often due to breaches in the case of mass events, fines to pay, or for several days in jail. Time I called Volkov on YouTube of a “covert public event” – was meant to be a campaign action for the self-proclaimed presidential candidate Navalny. A different Time Volkov had organised a Live broadcast of opposition protests, and Links in social networks is widely used.
The son of a University Professor from Ekaterinburg in the Urals is an IT expert and opposition politician with more than ten years of experience. In 2009, he was elected to the city Council of Yekaterinburg and was active in the “solidarity”movement, the 2015 murdered opposition leader and former Vice heads of government Boris Nemtsov. He is committed to, among other things, for digital democracy and a free Internet without censorship.
Alexei Navalny with his wife at a memorial ceremony for Boris Nemtsov in Moscow in February 2019
In 2012, Volkov was one of the co-founder and first Chairman of the opposition party “people’s Alliance”, which is close to Navalny. The Russian authorities refuse to allow her to date, the registry and block your access to the elections. The “people’s Alliance” was later renamed the “party of progress”, and 2018 in the party “Russia of the future”. In mid-may, Navalny’s party filed for the ninth Time, papers for registration to the Ministry of justice. A decision is expected in June.
In a DW interview, which is positioned Volkov, the party “Russia of the future” as a “moderate centre-right” and compared with the CDU in Germany or the Macron movement in France. The party’s goal of a “European Russia”, in which “democracy is change, elections, power, political competition, and freedom of the press” in Volkov.
“Smart vote” against Putin’s party?
Volkov initiated already in 2013, Navalny’s campaign headquarters during the mayoral election in Moscow. At that time, the opposition politicians came in second and got around 27 percent of the vote. 2018 managed Volkov, Navalny’s election campaign, as the want to run for the Russian presidency, but due to international criticism, condemnation is not allowed. The campaign of the leader of the opposition used, however, to be network.
Least, concentrating themselves Navalny, among other things, what he called the “smart vote”. The project, said Volkov of the DW, see, in the forthcoming local and regional elections in September, “tactical” and promising Challenger to the Pro-Kremlin party to support “United Russia”. The strategic objective was “to the Kremlin to hurt”.