Given the scale of today's protest in Khabarovsk, you're probably wondering what Russian state TV is making of it.

A thread: https://twitter.com/BBCSteveR/status/1284333146717159427

Last night Rossiya 1 became the first major channel to mention the ongoing demonstrations. But if you were expecting something like the recent coverage from local news sites or activists' social media accounts, you'd be very wrong.

The first two thirds of its nine-minute-long report provided exhaustive detail of the alleged crimes committed by governor Sergei Furgal. It went heavy on scrap metal yards, murders, and dodgy "accomplices".

But then Rossiya 1 cranked into action:

"Immediately after Furgal was detained, his numerous supporters became active; for many of them, his criminal history wasn't news."

"The situation played into the hands of some bloggers and troublemakers - one of them, Moscow blogger Alexei Romanov, came to Khabarovsk urgently. He called for mass protests, rubbing his hands in the hope of getting some nice footage - so-called 'action'."

Romanov has also travelled to the likes of Georgia and Ukraine in search of juicy protest footage, the channel said.

"According to certain information, he was personally sent there by one Nataliya Arno-Budayeva, leader of a group controlled by the US State Department."

The main aim is to "stir things up for Western curators".

Here she is pictured with late US Senator John McCain

And several organisations considered "undesirable" by Russia have sought to exploited the Furgal situation. For them, the main thing is "pogroms, disorder and clashes with the police".

"The foreign media are ready - there have never been so many foreign journos in Khabarovsk."

And if that weren't enough, other "bloggers and troublemakers" are involved too!

"Pro-Western online network coordinator Sergei Naumov" as well as LGBT activist Yulia Tsvetkova (!) are looking to exploit it - "though what she wants with the Furgal affair is not clear". END