The protests began after the arrest on July 9 on murder charges of Khabarovsk’s governor, Sergei I. Furgal, one of a handful of regional leaders not affiliated with a party entirely controlled by the Kremlin. The case has crystallized longstanding resentments in Russia’s far-flung regions toward Moscow, which is often seen as demanding loyalty while giving little in return. In Vladivostok, however, a number of arrests were reported. From 11 July 2020, protesters in Khabarovsk for months joined daily to support the now-fired governor Furgal and called for Putin to go. Khabarovsk police have not attempted to crack down on the unsanctioned demonstrations, though a few people have been detained, including a local blogger known for his coverage of the protests. Despite the clashes, several hundred protesters remained in the square for hours after the unrest. Large demonstrations unexpectedly broke out in Russia’s Far East. And so, on Saturday, 30,000 people took to the streets of Khabarovsk to demand his release. Russia’s Investigative Committee says he is suspected of involvement in several murders of businessmen in 2004 and 2005. After more than a week of unrest, tens of thousands of people continued to fill the streets in the Russian Far East to protest the arrest of Sergei I. Furgal, a popular regional governor. MOSCOW — Ignoring pleas from the Kremlin for calm after more than a week of unrest, protesters in the Russian Far East on Saturday staged their biggest display of defiance yet, with tens of thousands of people pouring into the streets to protest the arrest of a popular regional governor. “Furgal became a political symbol for the residents of the region, and all accusations — no matter how grave — are from another, non-political dimension,” political analyst Abbas Gallyamov said in a Facebook post. During his two years in office, Furgal earned a reputation of being “the people’s governor.” He cut his own salary, ordered the sale of an expensive yacht that the previous administration bought, met with protesters when rallies happened and significantly reduced flight fares for residents in remote areas. Mr. Furgal is a member of the Liberal Democratic Party, a far-right outfit that has grown increasingly restive over its Kremlin-assigned role as a decorative and largely powerless “opposition” party in Russia’s tightly controlled political system. The unauthorized protests are the largest ever in Khabarovsk, a city of 590,000. Since his arrest on July 9, … The massive unauthoritized crowds gathered despite local officials’ attempts to discourage people from taking to the streets, citing the coronavirus epidemic and an alleged averted terrorist threat. Furgal was elected governor of Khabarovsk two years ago in what was largely a protest vote against the sitting governor, a member of the United Russia party … He said that after Mr. Furgal took office, the Kremlin had tried to get the new governor to quit the Liberal Democratic Party. Furgal was elected governor of Khabarovsk Region in 2018 in a landslide victory. Last Saturday, crowds of reportedly up to 35,000 people rallied in Khabarovsk. The Federal Security Service soon announced that it had foiled a terrorist plot in Khabarovsk, stirring fears of a crackdown on protesters under the pretext of fighting terrorism. Russian news media reported that 50,000 or more people had joined a rally in the capital of Khabarovsk Krai, a sprawling territory nearly 4,000 miles east of Moscow. KHABAROVSK, Russia (AP) — Mass rallies challenging the Kremlin rocked Russia’s Far East city of Khabarovsk again on Saturday, as tens of thousands took to the streets to protest the arrest of the region’s governor on charges of involvement in multiple murders. Huge crowds took to the streets of the Russian city of Khabarovsk Saturday in continued protests following the arrest of former governor Sergey Furgal. KHABAROVSK, Russia (AP) — Mass rallies challenging the Kremlin rocked Russia's Far East city of Khabarovsk again on Saturday, as tens of thousands took to the streets to protest … “Though I’m almost 70, I worry sincerely about my region, about Russia and our nation, about Furgal and freedom. I want us to be free,” Alla Sokolova, a protester in Khabarovsk, told the AP. The estimated 3,000 demonstrators protested the charges […] A member of the nationalist Liberal Democratic Party, Furgal was elected governor in 2018, defeating the Kremlin-backed incumbent. Instead of being held in Khabarovsk, where authorities allege the crimes took place, Mr. Furgal was flown to Moscow immediately after his arrest, a move seen by many locals as an unwarranted intrusion into their affairs and an effort by the Kremlin to grab control of the case. Speaking in Moscow on Thursday, his lawyer, Boris Kozhemyakin, told reporters that the jailed governor “thanks” the protesters “but does not approve of these mass actions.”. The government in Khabarovsk, the regional capital, said in a statement that only 10,000 people had gathered “at the beginning” but gave no figure for the overall turnout. Then, officials warned protesters that they risked spreading the coronavirus, and ordered that people stay away from all “illegal” gatherings for health reasons. Khabarovsk’s governor, Sergei I. Furgal, in a Moscow court this month after his arrest on murder charges. Khabarovsk residents dismissed the charges against him as unsubstantiated and denounced the Kremlin for targeting a governor they elected. People are fed up with the way we are treated, that they can simply take away our choice,” protester Mikhail Yerashchenko told The Associated Press on Saturday. UP offeres the best coverage on Khabarovsk and other important topics. Police in Khabarovsk, in Russia’s Far East, on October 10, 2020 beat peaceful protesters and arbitrarily detained over 20 people, Human Rights Watch said today. Khabarovsk police estimated between 10,000 and 12,000 people attended the demonstration, while some local media estimated 20,000 to 30,000 people took part, reporting it … Smaller rallies in support of Furgal also took place Saturday in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, another big city in the Khabarovsk region, and in the city of Vladivostok in the neighboring Primorye region. People in the eastern province of Khabarovsk have been staging protests against Vladimir Putin for nearly a week. World Anti-Kremlin protests in Khabarovsk: 'We hate Moscow!' announced that it had foiled a terrorist plot in Khabarovsk. But that failed, too, with Mr. Furgal’s supporters thronging the streets in even larger numbers. Latest Khabarovsk News, Read 2021 Breaking news updates about Khabarovsk. People hold posters that read: "Freedom for Khabarovsk region's governor Sergei Furgal" during an unsanctioned protest in support of Sergei Furgal, the governor of the Khabarovsk region, in Khabarovsk, 6100 kilometers (3800 miles) east of Moscow, Russia, Saturday, July 18, 2020. A new surge is expected on Saturday, as supporters have said the will protest for as long as needed to have his trial moved to Khabarovsk. Protesters demanded that Furgal’s trial be moved to Khabarovsk, with one saying “we have elected him and it’s up to us to judge him.” Some questioned the timing of the arrest, pointing to Furgal’s decade-long stint as a lawmaker in the Russian parliament before running for governor, during which the murder charges never came up. Alexander Prikhodko, born in … “Moscow go away,” read one banner on Saturday. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the situation “not standard” this week. Today, that city — Khabarovsk — is leading a dangerous national resistance to perceived repression by the Putin regime. The Kremlin’s special envoy for the Far East, Yuri P. Trutnev, rushed to Khabarovsk last week to express an understanding of the protests while demanding that they stop. In a blow to local pride, the Kremlin responded to Mr. Furgal’s election victory in 2018 over its own candidate by rejiggering bureaucratic boundaries in the Far East to give primacy to Vladivostok, Khabarovsk’s longtime rival. Events in the Far East, however, have highlighted the weakness of once reliable methods of control. State-controlled television ignored the protests, sticking to its line that Russia is united in joyous support for Mr. Putin after a recent national plebiscite in which 78 percent of voters endorsed constitutional amendments allowing him to remain in office until 2036. They chanted “freedom, freedom” but muted the denunciations of President Vladimir V. Putin that were heard at earlier protests. Alexander Nemenov/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images, Khabarovsk, the regional capital, said in a statement, arrest on July 9 on murder charges of Khabarovsk’s governor, Sergei I. Furgal, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, complained that the Kremlin “treats us like idiots”. President Vladimir V. Putin can  remain in office until 2036 after a national plebiscite delivered a pre-determined outcome. Protesters feel the accusations against Furgal are unsubstantiated and demand a public trial in Khabarovsk, a city around 6,000 kilometers (3728 miles) east of Moscow, close to the Chinese border. His victory was unexpected: Furgal didn’t actively campaign and toed the Kremlin’s line, publicly supporting his rival. Protests have continued every day since. Tens of thousands of people in the far eastern Russian city of Khabarovsk have taken part in a protest march over the arrest of a popular regional governor on murder charges. Protesters held banners demanding Furgal’s freedom and chanted “I, you, he and she – the entire country is for Furgal”. Furgal has denied the charges, which relate to his time as a businessman importing consumer goods ranging from timber and metals. A woman holds a placard reading ‘Freedom for Sergei Furgal during an unauthorised protest over the arrest of the regional governor, in Khabarovsk on August 1st. Protesters in Khabarovsk see the charges against Furgal as unsubstantiated and are demanding that his trial take place in his home city, 6,100 kilometers (3,800 miles) east … Tens of thousands of people in the Russian Far East city of Khabarovsk took to the streets on Saturday, protesting the arrest of the region's governor on charges of involvement in multiple murders. Mr. Putin, whose approval rating slumped to a 20-year-low after the coronavirus hit Russia, was supposed to step down at the end of his current term in 2024, but under the amended constitution he can now run for two more six-year terms. (AP Photo/Igor Volkov), Connect with the definitive source for global and local news, By YULIA KHOROVENKOVA and DARIA LITVINOVA. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/18/world/russian-protests.html People hold posters that read: "Freedom for Khabarovsk region's governor Sergei Furgal" during an unsanctioned protest in support of Sergei Furgal, the governor of the Khabarovsk region, in Khabarovsk, 6100 kilometers (3800 miles) east of Moscow, Russia, Saturday, July 18, 2020. Local media estimated the rally in the city attracted from 15,000 to 50,000 people. Local media estimated the rally in the city 3,800 miles east of Moscow drew 15,000 to 50,000 people, while city authorities put the number at 10,000. You can find all important news stories, headlines, news photos and videos about Khabarovsk. Hundreds of people have rallied in the city every day this week against the arrest of Sergei Furgal, reflecting widespread anger over the arrest of the popular governor and a simmering discontent with the Kremlin’s policies. Khabarovsk authorities estimated that roughly 10,000 people joined the protest march, and that it had “got noticeably thinner” by the end. In a statement, the mayor's office said … Moscow has not yet appointed an acting governor 11 days after Furgal’s arrest. Stay up to date with the best and authentic source of News … Police didn’t interfere with Saturday’s rally. All the same, the large turnout, particularly unusual in Russia’s quiescent hinterland, posed a bold challenge to the Kremlin, exposing deep wells of public anger as Russia struggles with the economic damage left by the coronavirus pandemic and growing fatigue with political stagnation. In an interview with The New York Times this past week, the leader of the party, the nationalist firebrand Vladimir Zhirinovsky, complained that the Kremlin “treats us like idiots” and gives no space for real opposition. Defying Kremlin, Protesters Stage Biggest Rally Yet in Russian Far East. “It’s not only about this (whether Furgal arrest is legal or not). But the vote, rigged from the start, only highlighted how hollow Russia’s democratic rituals have become. Law enforcement warned the demonstrators to stop, but that was ignored. The mayor's office said around 500 people had taken part in the initial rally, while opposition groups put the number at 1,000, according to Russian news agency Interfax. The protests, unauthorised by authorities, are the largest ever to have taken place in Khabarovsk, a city of 590,000. Demonstrators … Despite pleas and threats from Moscow, tens of thousands gathered peacefully in Khabarovsk and other cities to protest the arrest of a popular regional governor. The authorities even recruited the arrested governor, Mr. Furgal, in their efforts to halt the protests. Furgal, the Khabarovsk region governor, was arrested on July 9 and flown to Moscow where he was put in jail for two months. Saturday’s protests delivered a dramatic defeat to frenzied efforts by the authorities, both local and national, to tamp down public anger with pleas and threats. At this point, police then used force against them. Protesters on Saturday focused their chants and banners on mostly local grievances, demanding that Mr. Furgal be returned to his home region and given a fair trial. "The people in Khabarovsk are showing that it's possible to protest and that the Kremlin can't do anything to them if there are 30,000 or 40,000 of them," he said. Thousands more attended protests in other regional towns and in Vladivostok, a port city on the Pacific Ocean in neighboring Primorsky Krai. Sergei Furgal was arrested on July 9 on suspicion of involvement in murders and taken to jail in Moscow. Local media suggested that the number was higher, some even saying that up to 50,000 had taken part; that number, however, could not immediately be verified. People voted for him nonetheless, delivering a humiliating blow to the main Kremlin party, United Russia, that has been losing seats in regional governments over the past two years. KHABAROVSK, Russia -- Tens of thousands of people marched Saturday across Russia's Far East city of Khabarovsk on the border with China to protest … MOSCOW (AP) — Thousands of demonstrators gathered again Saturday in the major Russian Far East city of Khabarovsk to denounce the arrest of the region’s governor a month ago. Tens of thousands of people in the Russian city of Khabarovsk have turned out for a protest over the arrest of the region’s governor on charges of involvement in multiple murders. Police officers in Khabarovsk made no effort to stop what the authorities described as an “illegal” but peaceful protest and instead handed out face masks.