This is actually pretty funny. This morning I wrote a post about how the authorities in Sverdlovsk Region arbitrarily banned our January 28 rally, claiming that it would undermine political and social stability and generally pose a threat to Russia.
The post also included the news that in Yekaterinburg, people would only be allowed to ride the ice slide for free if they said the password: “I’m for elections.”
Naturally, in response to such obvious disrespect toward local residents, I called on people to come out to the rally anyway.
Three hours later, the regional government changed its mind and authorized the rally.
So on January 28 in Yekaterinburg, we are now allowed to hold a rally and do all those terrible things that had officials so frightened just this morning.
The response says nothing about the ice slide, but I assume that if we’ve now been permitted to undermine stability, then surely taking a couple of free rides down the slide should be allowed too.
But seriously, I welcome this decision. Really, what is the point of needlessly escalating things out of nowhere? People have peaceful intentions and every right to organize this kind of rally. They’re going to come out anyway. So let them. Who needs all this mess with detentions and court cases? That’s what you call creating a headache for yourself.
In Novosibirsk, it has been approved. Now in Yekaterinburg it has been approved as well. In Ufa, it was banned, but we will come out anyway. And in Khabarovsk, our coordinator was jailed for 15 days just for filing the application, but we will come out anyway.
It’s just that the officials in Ufa and Khabarovsk are more foolish than those in Novosibirsk and Yekaterinburg.
Find your city and join in. It’s the most important thing you can do right now.