Paul Goble
Staunton, October 25 -- In an ominous
move, some 30 OMON officers two days ago blocked the railroad station near
where the Shiyes anti-trash dump protesters have made their camp as well as the
roads leading to and from it, electric power there and in neighboring villages,
and Internet connections with the outside world.
The protesters and their supporters
are not sure whether this is the first step towards the closing of their camp
or simply another feint in that direction designed to keep them nervous and off
balance (novayagazeta.ru/news/2019/10/23/156327-rosgvrardiya-otsepila-stantsiyu-shies-v-sosednem-poselke-perekryty-dorogi-i-otklyucheno-elektrichestvo
and severreal.org/a/30231764.html).
But one thing many of them are sure
of is that Vladimir Putin is behind the move and that this is yet another case
in which he has made much-covered public promises to defer to the population
and follow the rule of law only to move in another direction when attention shifts
(facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3000770686815802&id=100006487019253).
Obviously, there is still some
communication between the protesters and journalists; but the ring is being
tightened. And as the weather gets worse, it will become far more difficult for
the protesters to get the supplies and support they need to continue their
protest against the largest trash dump in Europe, one not for their own wastes
but for those of Moscow.
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