Support The Moscow Times!

Children Paid to Attend Anti-Corruption Rally, Says Kremlin

Artur Novosiltsev / TASS

The Kremlin has accused opposition politician Alexei Navalny of paying children to attend anti-corruption rallies across Russia on Sunday.

Presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov condemned the protests, many of which took place throughout Russia without authorities' permission.

"We cannot respect the kind of people who knowingly mislead minors — children, in fact — with the promise of some monetary award just to make them take part in an illegal rally,” Peskov said. “[These children] are risking their safety or even their lives.”

Navalny had previously promised to win compensation for arrested protesters from the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). In a blog post on Wednesday, the politician announced that his project, the Russian Euro Court, would help demonstrators “file thousands of appeals” if necessary.

“If you’re detained, then you’re also going to make some money,” he said.

Peskov also claimed that ordinary Russians had been duped into believing that the protests were legal.

"What we saw in some places yesterday, especially in Moscow, was a provocation and a lie,” he said. Peskov added that event organizers in Moscow had rejected two “alternative venues” in the city's outskirts earmarked for the event by local authorities, instead choosing to hold an unapproved rally in the city center.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov took the opportunity to hit back at governments abroad who condemned Russian police's heavy-handed approach to the protesters, including the U.S. State Department.

"I remember when similar laws were broken in European capitals and in the United States — when demonstrators gathered where they were not supposed to gather, when they went down routes that they were not supposed to take —  I remember how the police in Western nations deal with such violations: with batons and tear gas and whatever." 

He also defended the arrest of several Russian and international journalists during the protests, arguing that Russian state television crew had also been detained. 

"Our journalists also get into situations like this sometimes," Lavrov said. "Reporters from the RT television channel were stopped when they tried to cover riots which broke out in connection with some demonstration in the United States, just last fall," the minister said.

Sign up for our free weekly newsletter

Our weekly newsletter contains a hand-picked selection of news, features, analysiss and more from The Moscow Times. You will receive it in your mailbox every Friday. Never miss the latest news from Russia. Preview
Subscribers agree to the Privacy Policy

A Message from The Moscow Times:

Dear readers,

We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."

These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.

By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.

Once
Monthly
Annual
Continue
paiment methods
Not ready to support today?
Remind me later.

Read more