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Kremlin: tough approach to Navalny allies permanent

ANTON ZVEREV DARYA KORSUNSKAYA ANDREW OSBORN

MOSCOW — The Kremlin and its loyalists have said they will maintain and, in some cases, intensify their tough approach to internal and external critics and organizations that they view as a threat to Russia’s stability.

In the run-up to a parliamentary election won by a large margin by the ruling United Russia against a backdrop of fraud allegations, the authorities neutralized the party’s critics outside parliament, using legal mechanisms to stop them from taking part in the ballot and targeting what they saw as hostile media and non-governmental organizations.

Allies of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, who is serving two-and-ahalf years in prison for parole violations he says are trumped up, had their homes raided, their freedom of movement restricted, or fled abroad after a court ruled their activities to be extremist in June.

In comments to Reuters, the Kremlin said the authorities would continue to take a tough line against Navalny’s allies despite the election being over. A senior lawmaker suggested a clamp-down on foreign nongovernmental organizations would ramp up.

“The non-systemic opposition (Navalny’s allies) crossed a red line a while ago. What they were doing was using provocations and all methods to try to stir up social unrest,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

“Naturally, any authorities would adopt as tough a position as possible to that. The aim is to maintain stability in society. There is no place for lawlessness and we are ready to force people to obey the law.

“This is not connected to the Duma (parliament) elections. This is our line and it will continue to be our line,” he said.

Separately, Vasily Piskarev, head of a parliamentary committee which investigates foreign interference, is asking the Prosecutor General to ban the activities of more than 20 unnamed foreign non-government organizations.

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2021-09-23T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-09-23T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://saltwire.pressreader.com/article/281865826615176

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