Analysts assess protest activity in Dagestan after Navalny's arrest

After the arrest of oppositionist Alexei Navalny, activists of Dagestan were warned about the inadmissibility of any unsanctioned protests. The authorities of Dagestan try to prevent protest actions in support of Alexei Navalny, even though there are few of his supporters in the region, experts note.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on January 17, Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who flew from Berlin to Moscow, was detained at the Sheremetyevo Airport, and on January 18, the court ruled to keep him in custody until February 15, 2021.

The Dagestani authorities try to prevent protests of Alexei Navalny's supporters, believes Magomed Magomedov, the deputy editor-in-chief of the regional newspaper "Chernovik" (Rough Draft). "The local authorities clearly understand that the ban on such actions is an unspoken directive of the federal centre," he explained.

The authorities of Dagestan will try to prevent protest actions of Alexei Navalny's supporters, although the majority of the region's residents are either indifferent to the oppositionist, or are simply curious about him, political analyst Eduard Urazaev says. "Taking into account the fact that the Dagestani authorities are embedded into the power's vertical hierarchy, the attitude towards the protests of Navalny's supporters remains negative, and officials will try to prevent the protest actions," the political analyst told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

There are supporters of Alexei Navalny in Dagestan, but their number is not high, Eduard Urazaev notes. The arrest of Alexei Navalny and his released investigation about a palace in Gelendzhik have strengthened the negative opinion of Dagestani residents with regard to the government in the country, but they are unlikely to massively change their attitude towards the oppositionist, the political analyst believes.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on January 21, 2021 at 06:47 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.