AFP reported that the Russian Kremlin accused the United States of interfering in Russia’s “internal affairs” on January 24.
According to the report, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on the same day that the U.S. Embassy’s practice of announcing the time and place of demonstrations in major Russian cities on January 23 was “certainly inappropriate,” and “indirectly, of course, this is a kind of interference in our internal affairs.”
On the evening of January 23, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zakharova said that the Russian Foreign Ministry had urgently summoned U.S. diplomats in Russia, who were asked to explain the U.S. Embassy’s publication of the dates and locations of demonstrations in major Russian cities on January 23.
On the same day, the Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement on its website firmly rejecting the U.S. Embassy’s interference in Russia’s internal affairs.
According to Russia Today (RT), thousands of people took to the streets of major Russian cities on Jan. 23 to stage “illegal demonstrations” against Navalny’s arrest. Earlier, the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Prosecutor General’s Office issued a statement saying that the demonstrations and rallies on the 23rd were unauthorized and a provocation and threat to public security.
At the same time, Russian Internet regulators have asked to block information on the Internet calling for people to participate in marches and rallies.
