Residents in 30 Federal Subjects Take Part in ‘Thanks to Navalny’ Action of Their Own

Paul Goble
    Staunton, Feb. 5 – Supporters of Aleksey Navalny plan to assemble in Moscow on Feb. 16, the first anniversary of his death in a Russian prison camp, to say thank you to the late Russian politician for his contributions and to pledge their support for implementing the ideas he put forward.
    But many people beyond the capital’s ring road who would like to participate simply can’t, and so an Altai poet, Artyom Sakharov, urged people in the federal subjects to take part by sending toys or pictures of toys to regional groups.  Approximately 150 in 30 federal subjects have now done so (semnasem.org/news/2025/02/05/zhiteli-30-regionov-pouchastvovali-v-akcii-spasibonavalnomu).
    Russian siloviki have taken such a hard line against such activism outside of Moscow that many people have been afraid to deliver the toys in person but instead are sending scanned images to the Navalny groups, Sakharov says. About a third of the 150 who took part chose that approach.
    But even this figure is impressive for three reasons: the campaign in the regions received little attention, many in the regions disagree with Navalny’s stance on federalism, and the risks of taking action far from Moscow are far greater because there is far less chance that Western journalists or diplomats will cover what goes on.