RUSSIA - Putin to Navalny: The Beginning of an Uprising For Democracy

'Putin's palace: History of world's largest bribe', the investigative film by Navalny has gathered nearly 70 million viewers in five days.

Moscow - In August 2020, Cinema for Peace saved the life of Russian political opposition leader Alexei Navalny by evacuating him in a humanitarian mission on the request of Pussy Riot to the Charite hospital in Berlin after he was poisoned with the soviet era chemical weapon Novichok. Now his life is in danger again in the same prison, where Sergei Magnitzki was tortured and beaten to death. The Magnitzki Rule of Law started global sanction mechanisms, Navalny's arrest would possibly start a revolution in Russia.

Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) has gathered millions of followers on social media and publishes high-quality investigative films cracking down on large scale official corruption. Upon his return, Navalny released the new investigative film on his youtube channel, about Putin's alleged luxurious palace on the black sea. Over 70 million people have watched the corruption video about Putin in a few days, there have been over 700 million interactions by young people on TikTok and big demonstrations today have expressed in every big city in Russia that the people do not accept such dictatorship anymore.

The Russian government has since been engaged in widespread arrests and detentions of his supporters and aides ahead of the proposed protests, including his lawyer Lyubov Sobol as well as his spokeswoman, Kira Yarmysh. The rise of support for Navalny and reactions by the Kremlin displays the fear of a Ukraine-style revolution in Russia sweeping away those in power.

Ahead of his return to Moscow, Navalny put together a list of eight Russian business and political elites who should be sanctioned by the west, published by Vladimir Ashurkov. Notable members in the list are Roman Abramovich (Chelsea Football Club owner), Mikhail Murashko (Russia’s Health Minister), and Andrei Kostin (President of state-owned VTB Bank).

In the past, Cinema for Peace has co-produced a film about the murdered Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya with Oscar winner Susan Sarandon and Catherine Deneuve, screened films about the murdered opposition leader Boris Nemtsov as well as screened films and debates on the Sergei Magnitsky case with Bill Browder. Mikhail Gorbachev acted regularly as honorary chairman of the annual gala and presented the first “Green Oscar” at Cinema for Peace to Leonardo DiCaprio.

Cinema for Peace is currently running an online petition calling for the release of Alexei Navalny. Click here to sign the petition.

The eight-member list put together by Navalny who should be sanctioned by the Western governments and the EU.

'Electing Russia' by murdered filmmaker Alexander Rastorguev shines a light on Alexei Navalny and the Russian opposition.