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The governor Russia's Khabarovsk region, Sergey Furgal, has been arrested on suspicion of organizing the murders of multiple businessmen over a decade ago. Furgal is one of the few regional leaders in Russia who represents an opposition party (LDPR). https://www.rt.com/russia/494204-khabarovsk-furgal-assassinations-probe/
The LDPR leader, veteran right-winger Vladimir Zhirinovsky, has refused to expel him from the party. He has also suggested that all of the party’s MPs may resign from the national parliament, the State Duma, in protest over the arrest. Khabarovsk is a stronghold for the LDPR.
In 2018, Furgal beat Slava Schport, of Putin's United Russia to take the governorship. It was part of an electoral wipeout of United Russia in the region. Locals in Khabarovsk were upset over Putin moving the Far Eastern capital to the smaller Vladivostok & decades of corruption
Many suggesting today's arrest is 'revenge' for that but bear in mind Khabarovsk is an incredibly corrupt province. Only last year Furgal's predecessor Viktor Ishaev (seen as close to Putin & a member of United Russia) was arrested on charges of abuse of power and embezzlement.
There have been a string of arrests of high-profile political & business figures in Khabarovsk over the past couple of years (most of them from Putin's party). Just 20km from the Chinese border, it's been Russia's answer to El Paso for years.
Thus, the circumstances around Furgal's arrest are probably more complicated than it just being 'revenge' for beating the Kremlin's candidate. When he was elected, I tried to give a flavor of the unique situation in Khabarovsk in this analysis piece https://www.rt.com/op-ed/439383-russia-far-east-election/
Big protest in Khabarovsk this afternoon, in support of Furgal. The city of 600,000 people is seven hours ahead of Moscow & around 8,000km from the capital. Demonstators saying the people have their voice & they are the government in their region.
Local sources say about 25,000 people attended the rally. Which would be equivalent to around 500,000 protesting in Moscow. This is a big deal. Unrest in a city like Khabarovsk is far more worrying for Kremlin than liberals marching in central Moscow.
This tweet, from the Moscow correspondent of Germany's @welt is not true/disinformation. There were *not* 60,000 at the rally. Also, police were *not* "afraid to do anything." The local government actually thanked the protestors & the event was entirely peaceful.
Some more video from the protest from a friend in Khabarovsk. This is a really big deal. The question is... what happens next?
English language report here, and plenty of video, as thousands of residents of Khabarovsk, the largest city in Russia’s Far East, took to the streets on Saturday to protest about the arrest of nationalist opposition governor Sergey Furgal. https://www.rt.com/russia/494473-far-east-russia-governor-protest/
US state-run media @RFERL predictably making the Khabarovsk protests about Putin (they are not). The outlet neglects to mention that Putin’s constitutional referendum was passed with over 65% of the vote in Khabarovsk, just 11 days ago. Go figure. https://twitter.com/rferl/status/1282132604003782657?s=21
Another protest in Khabarovsk, today. However, significantly fewer people took to the streets than yesterday. Somewhere between 500 & 2,000, depending on whom you believe. Again, the rally, which was unauthorized, passed off peacefully, without arrests https://kommersant.ru/doc/4415380?from=hotnews#id1921376…
A friend sent me some video from this evening’s Khabarovsk protest. Notably marchers are carrying the regional flag, rather than Russian National flags, for instance.
More video from Khabarovsk, today. Again, note the regional flags.
Third day in-a-row of protests in Khabarovsk. Crowds getting smaller but notable that a sizeable amount of people are not willing to let it go.
Yury Trutnev, Putin's envoy to the Far East says the work of officials in Khabarovsk has been poor. "We have allocated billions (of rubles) for the construction of an oncology center, a sambo center, but nothing has been built," he claims. https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/4415814?from=hotnews#id1921376
Fifth day of protests in Khabarovsk. Crowds seem to be getting smaller. Keep an eye on what happens on Saturday. Furgal's supporters are hoping for a huge turnout, to keep momentum going.
Oh no! Here come the 'Russia Watchers' (people who have likely never been to Khabarovsk & know nothing about it). Same happened during protests in the city in 2011: Police were very calm. I know, because I was there. Khabarovsk is different from Moscow: Everyone knows everyone.
Massive protest in Khabarovsk, today. @kommersant says 50,000 took part. Meaning it’s akin to 1 million people marching in Moscow, given size of the two cities. This movement isn’t going away: it’s actually gaining momentum.
Btw, if you’re wondering why US/UK media is relatively muted on protests, reason is people are marching in support of a politician from a far-right party (LDPR) which makes Marine le Pen & Viktor Orban look like pussycats. Its leader wants to annex Finland & the Baltics.
Vladimir Zhirinovsky has also called the complete destruction of Germany & for Paris to be burned down. He believes India is a “threat to the white race” & has asked Putin to “carpet bomb” Poland. In 2015, he threatened to shoot all Ukrainian governors.
Zhirinovsky once said of Condoleezza Rice: “ She’s a black wh*re who needs a good c*ck. Send her here, one of our divisions will make her happy in the barracks. She will choke on Russian sperm as it will be leaking out of her ears... until she crawls to US embassy on her knees.”
It's very good that BBC has sent a correspondent to Khabarovsk because the story deserves to be told. However, rather disingenuous of the British state broadcaster not to tell viewers that governor represents a far-right party (more extreme than the BNP) https://twitter.com/BBCSteveR/status/1284316785324548103?s=20
This video gives an impression of the size of the protest. It was huge. Also, clearly a massive worry for the Kremlin. A popular protest like this, in a large regional city, is multiple times more significant than rallies by western-leaning liberals in Moscow.
Latest BBC report from Khabarovsk doesn’t even mention the name of Furgal’s party (LDPR), let alone tell viewers of the British state channel that it’s a west-hating far-right grouping. Incredible. https://twitter.com/bbcstever/status/1284595005374570496?s=21
US state run @RFERL’s report on Khabarovsk omits to mention that Putin’s constitution vote was carried by a margin of 62% in Khabarovsk (and backed by the LDPR). There’s some incredibly disingenuous US/UK reporting around this story.
Remember: This is a Khabarovsk issue. It’s about fact people feel a freely elected popular governor (supported by regional kingmaker Viktor Ishaev - who has dominated for 30 years) has been selectively targeted by Moscow (a city they already hate) over the heads of locals.
Another huge protest in Khabarovsk today, for the third successive Saturday. Local media estimates 15-20,000 took part, authorities say 6,500 and @kommersant reckons it was 50,000 at one point. What's clear is that the anger has not petered out. https://www.rt.com/russia/495843-khabarovsk-rally-arrested-governor/
The protestor’s main demand is that the trial of (now-ex) governor Furgal be held locally, rather than in the capital. Such a concession by Moscow would set a major precedent. Marchers have vented their anger at Putin & also LDPR leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky today.
Mikhail Degtyarev, the LDPR member that Putin sent to Khabarovsk to replace Furgal says he supports an open trial for his predecessor, in Khabarovsk. However, he says "the decision will be taken by the judicial system - not Degtyarev (himself)." https://www.vedomosti.ru/politics/articles/2020/07/26/835351-kortezh-vrio-gubernatora
Here's some pretty slick video from yesterday's Khabarovsk protest (sorry about the music). What's really interesting is the number of regional flags on show. It's not a seperatist movement, but locals are very, very angry with Moscow & have always had a distinct identity.
Two years ago, I tried to explain. The Far East is not another country, but it is different from most of the rest of Russia. Incidentally, it was the last Russian region to be absorbed by the Soviets. In 1922, five years after the revolution! https://www.rt.com/op-ed/439383-russia-far-east-election/
Protestors in Khabarovsk took to the streets today for the 4th Saturday in a row. But it looks like the movement is petering out. Much smaller crowd, likely down to holiday season kicking off, inclement weather & diminishing interest. https://www.rt.com/russia/496855-khabarovsk-protest-furgal-continue/
Applebaum is right that Khabarovsk are march is in support of democratically-elected Governor.
She omits that governor is from a far-right party she’d despise if it were in US or EU & that he’s been charged (perhaps selectively, but plausibly) with involvement in murders.
She omits that governor is from a far-right party she’d despise if it were in US or EU & that he’s been charged (perhaps selectively, but plausibly) with involvement in murders.
Furgal for President? The former Governor of Khabarovsk won’t be excluded from his LDPR party, even if found guilty of murder, and could stand as its candidate for Russian President in 2024 if acquitted, according to its leader, Vladimir Zhirinovsky https://www.rt.com/russia/497302-sergey-furgal-for-president-ldpr/
5th Saturday in a row of Khabarovsk protests; crowds look larger than last week's rain-hit gathering, but well down on the peak. Police say 2,800 marched, but @kommersant's reporter says the crowd was far larger. Number of regional flags again notable.
Report here as residents of Khabarovsk took to the streets once again in a continued show of support for former Governor Furgal. It was the 29th day in a row of protests. What's clear is the movement has petered out, but core supporters aren't giving up. https://www.rt.com/russia/497459-khabarovsk-potests-5th-week/
Hi, @VICENews
a) Khabarovsk is not a “tiny city:” It has a population of 618,000, making it bigger than Baltimore or Atlanta.
b) it’s not revolting against Putin. People have been marching in support of their former governor. Sergei Furgal, from the ultra-nationalist LDPR.
a) Khabarovsk is not a “tiny city:” It has a population of 618,000, making it bigger than Baltimore or Atlanta.
b) it’s not revolting against Putin. People have been marching in support of their former governor. Sergei Furgal, from the ultra-nationalist LDPR.
Hi, @guardian, Khabarovsk isn't in Siberia (Sibir), it's in the Far East (Dalny Vostok). And then people wonder why Russians cringe at US/UK media coverage of their country... imagine forming a view on a place without even knowing where it is?
It actually gets worse when you read it. Not only is Khabarovsk not in Siberia, 'Varangian' is not a 'Siberian word.' It comes from Greek, AFAIK (ready to be corrected on that).
36th day in a row of Khabarovsk protests. The movement is basically down to its core support now. Looks to be about 3,000 there, tops. Which is small compared to numbers a few weeks ago. @meduzaproject rather ludicrously claims 30,000 present.
Western, and western-funded outlets, have a habit of circulating ludicrous attendance figures for protests in Russia (some were claiming 100,000 attended a Khabarovsk rally a few week back). Really dumb & undermines trust in their output. Ps. 3,000 is actually still impressive.
You can judge for yourselves off this @tvrain report. Looks like 1,500-3,000 for me. Those numbers in a city or 600,000 are still rather high. Same as 30,000-60,000 in Moscow. Hence why media exaggeration is actually counter-productive. https://tvrain.ru/teleshow/here_and_now/protesty_v_habarovske_den_36-514406/
“Inspired by Belarus.” The protests in Khabarovsk started five weeks before anything happened in Belarus. US state-run @RFERL’s narratives are so primitive that you often have to laugh.
Amid Belarus, Navalny, etc, the media seems to have forgotten the Khabarovsk protests. Today was the 7th consecutive Saturday. Officials say 1,500 took part. A small fraction of the peak but the movement carries on. Forgotten, but not gone, as it were.
Six weeks on, Russians are no longer interested in the demonstrations in the country’s Far East. That’s according to internet search queries, which have dropped to less than a fifth of the figures seen in mid-July. https://www.rt.com/russia/499228-interest-khabarovsk-protests-drops/
Eighth week of protests in Khabarovsk, supporting jailed governor Sergey Furgal. Notable here is the sheer amount of regional flags on show. People chant: "Putin drink your tea, Khabarovsk will serve it." A reference to Alexei Navalny.
Yes, they are Soviet flags. Just in case you thought this was some sort of pro-NATO march, or even one in support of 'liberal democracy.' Wonder how US/UK media is reporting it? ))
Speaking of flags, good points here from @DrRadchenko. As well as regional, Russian and Soviet, you can see the Imperial Russian flag, used by the far-right LDPR. Of which, Furgal (the man they are marching in support of) is a member. https://twitter.com/DrRadchenko/status/1299650942577639424?s=20
The Khabarovsk story just gets more strange. Now turns out former governor Furgal can't be charged with murder-for-hire as he was already cleared in 2004. He remains in prison in Moscow as prosecutors appeal, claiming that investigation was 'influenced.' https://www.rt.com/russia/499532-furgal-cannot-be-charged/
Tenth consecutive Saturday of Khabarovsk protests. Much smaller than before, but still going. Those red banners, dominating the march, are Soviet flags. Which gives an indication of the political leanings of the core Khabarovsk protest movement.
The pro-Putin governor of the neighbouring Jewish Autonomous Oblast has cited the Khabarovsk protests as the reason he has easily won Sunday's election. “People saw this madness, they don't want the same here," Rostislav Goldstein told reporters. https://www.znak.com/2020-09-13/vrio_glavy_evreyskoy_ao_protesty_v_habarovske_pomogli_oderzhat_uverennuyu_pobedu
Khabarovsk protests continue, for an 11th consecutive Saturday. But the crowd today measured in the hundreds, not thousands, on a rainy day, far from the peak. The movement seems to have ended up as a mixed bag of USSR nostalgists & regional patriots, judging by the flags.
Three months after the Khabarovsk protests began, and with numbers down to a tiny fraction of the summer peak, cops (OMON) got heavy handed in the Far Eastern city today. Reports of dozens arrested. Knowing Khabarovsk people, this could backfire.
More detail on what happened in Khabarovsk, today, here.
"Police disperse protest rally in Russia’s Far East after attempt to set up tent camp in central Khabarovsk square" https://www.rt.com/russia/503144-khabarovsk-rally-police-action/
"Police disperse protest rally in Russia’s Far East after attempt to set up tent camp in central Khabarovsk square" https://www.rt.com/russia/503144-khabarovsk-rally-police-action/
The first snow came to Khabarovsk this week, but 250 hardy souls again marched today, in bitter cold weather. The once broad movement ended up as a mix of hardcore Soviet nostalgists & local nationalists. Plenty of USSR flags on show again today.
