Arrests Called Election-Year Warning

By Natalya Krainova

Activist Lev Ponomaryov, top,
participating in one-man pickets Monday.

A senior opposition activist on Monday accused the authorities of jailing Boris Nemtsov and five other opposition leaders over the New Year's holiday as a warning to the opposition not to rock the boat ahead of national elections.

Left Front co-leader Sergei Udaltsov said the arrests at a sanctioned anti-Kremlin rally on Dec. 31 were "preventive measures" and predicted further difficulties for the opposition ahead of the State Duma elections in December and presidential vote in March 2012.

"This year will be notable for the suppression of the opposition," Udaltsov said by telephone.

Udaltsov spent about 45 days in custody last year, a record for an opposition activist, after being sentenced on charges similar to those filed against the detained activists: Solidarity leaders Nemtsov and Ilya Yashin; Left Front co-leader Konstantin Kosyakin; Vladimir Tor, co-leader of the Movement Against Illegal Immigration; and Kirill Manulin, a senior Other Russia official, who were arrested right after an authorized opposition rally on Triumfalnaya Ploshchad on Dec. 31. Other Russia leader Eduard Limonov was detained as he exited his apartment building to attend the rally.

Police Let Furious Fans Rally

By Alexandra Odynova

Moreover, Investigative Committee chief Alexander Bastrykin pledged Wednesday that his agency would seek justice in the death of Yegor Sviridov, 28.