Alexei Navalny's Arrest Sparks Nationwide Protests | An Expert Analysis

Lyubov Sobol abd Alexei Navalny on march in memory of Boris Nemtsov. People, flag and poster on the background, February 2020.

On January 17, Alexei Navalny was immediately arrested upon his return to Russia from Germany, triggering a massive wave of protests across Russia. The Kennan Institute recently asked several of our experts to weigh in on this developing story and consider the following questions:

  1. What did the Kremlin hope to achieve by arresting Alexei Navalny, and has his arrest weakened the government’s hand?
  2. What can we infer from the widespread nature of the protests on January 23rd, as well as the Kremlin’s response?
  3. How has pro- or anti-opposition sentiment changed recently among different demographics, and might shifting support lead to a long-running series of protests, like we’ve seen in Khabarovsk and Belarus?
  4. Would further sanctions or punitive measures taken by the West alter the Putin regime’s calculus on dealing with the protests?
  5. Do Alexei Navalny’s politics matter?

Read contributions from Anna Arutunyan, Sergey Parkhomenko, Nina Rozhanovskaya, Regina Smyth, and Yuval Weber below.

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Authors

Kennan Institute

The Kennan Institute is the premier US center for advanced research on Eurasia and the oldest and largest regional program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. The Kennan Institute is committed to improving American understanding of Russia, Ukraine, Central Asia, the South Caucasus, and the surrounding region though research and exchange.   Read more

Kennan Institute