Navalny Calls for More Protests against Russian Invasion of Ukraine
2022-03-09
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1Russian opposition politician Alexey Navalny has again called for protests against Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
2Navalny is currently serving a prison sentence of over two years on what his supporters and Western legal experts call a false fraud charge.
3The opposition leader urged his supporters to act through social media from a prison outside of Moscow.
4He wrote on Twitter on March 8 that anger against the war was building inside Russia.
5He said the anti-war feelings "will keep growing across the society, so the anti-war protests should not be halted."
6Navalny also said Russians' reactions to the war "will largely define Russia's place in the history of the 21st century."
7And he said it was important to show that Russian citizens do not support the policy of President Vladimir Putin.
8"It's one thing if Putin killed Ukrainian civilians and destroyed life-critical infrastructure with full approval from the Russian citizens.
9However, it's a whole different story if Putin's bloody venture is not supported by the society," he added in a series of messages.
10Last week, Navalny urged daily demonstrations against the war in the country's cities.
11OVD-Info is a nonprofit organization that observes police arrests nationwide.
12It reported that police have detained more than 13,500 people for protesting against the war since Russia began its invasion on February 24.
13Navalny said his aides and associates carried out a series of computer-based opinion studies.
14Each of the studies asked for the opinion of 700 people from Moscow.
15The results showed quick changes in the way people understand Russia's actions in the war.
16While admitting the study was limited, the 45-year-old lawyer said it was still clear that "it took a few days of war to bring about radical mood changes among Russians."
17He added that people are willing to change their opinion, but only if they are involved in a discussion and they are able to get "true information about the war."
18At first, research by government-controlled groups carrying out public opinion studies in Russia suggested that Putin had majority support.
19Studies by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center and the Public Opinion Fund said more than 60 percent of Russians support the war.
20But some opinion experts suggest the studies are not correct.
21They said there would be less reported support if the firms had asked people whether they agree with the invasion of Ukraine.
22Instead, it was called a "special military operation."
23The Russian government is calling its actions in Ukraine: a "special military operation."
24Navalny added that the leadership in Russia can see there has been a change in public opinion.
25He said that explains their "nervousness, and the desperate attempts to end the war campaign as soon as possible."
26I'm Ashley Thompson.
1Russian opposition politician Alexey Navalny has again called for protests against Russia's invasion of Ukraine. 2Navalny is currently serving a prison sentence of over two years on what his supporters and Western legal experts call a false fraud charge. 3The opposition leader urged his supporters to act through social media from a prison outside of Moscow. He wrote on Twitter on March 8 that anger against the war was building inside Russia. He said the anti-war feelings "will keep growing across the society, so the anti-war protests should not be halted." 4Navalny also said Russians' reactions to the war "will largely define Russia's place in the history of the 21st century." 5And he said it was important to show that Russian citizens do not support the policy of President Vladimir Putin. 6"It's one thing if Putin killed Ukrainian civilians and destroyed life-critical infrastructure with full approval from the Russian citizens. However, it's a whole different story if Putin's bloody venture is not supported by the society," he added in a series of messages. 7Last week, Navalny urged daily demonstrations against the war in the country's cities. 8OVD-Info is a nonprofit organization that observes police arrests nationwide. It reported that police have detained more than 13,500 people for protesting against the war since Russia began its invasion on February 24. 9Navalny said his aides and associates carried out a series of computer-based opinion studies. Each of the studies asked for the opinion of 700 people from Moscow. The results showed quick changes in the way people understand Russia's actions in the war. 10While admitting the study was limited, the 45-year-old lawyer said it was still clear that "it took a few days of war to bring about radical mood changes among Russians." 11He added that people are willing to change their opinion, but only if they are involved in a discussion and they are able to get "true information about the war." 12At first, research by government-controlled groups carrying out public opinion studies in Russia suggested that Putin had majority support. 13Studies by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center and the Public Opinion Fund said more than 60 percent of Russians support the war. 14But some opinion experts suggest the studies are not correct. They said there would be less reported support if the firms had asked people whether they agree with the invasion of Ukraine. Instead, it was called a "special military operation." The Russian government is calling its actions in Ukraine: a "special military operation." 15Navalny added that the leadership in Russia can see there has been a change in public opinion. He said that explains their "nervousness, and the desperate attempts to end the war campaign as soon as possible." 16I'm Ashley Thompson. 17Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty staff reported on this story for RFE/RL and Jamie Detmer reported on it for VOA News. Jill Robbins adapted it for Learning English. 18____________________________________________________________________ 19Words in This Story 20fraud - n. the crime of getting money by tricking or lying to people 21infrastructure - n. the basic systems, such as transport and communication, that a country or organization uses in order to work effectively 22venture - n. a new activity that may not be successful 23mood - n. the way someone feels at a particular time 24desperate - adj. feeling that you have no hope and are ready to do anything to change the situation you are in 25What do you think of the protests in Russia against the invasion of Ukraine? Are there such protests where you live? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.