On May 20, 2017, Alexei Navalny was supposed to open a campaign headquarters in Saransk, but the meeting with volunteers ended up taking place not in the office, but out in a field: at the last moment, every venue fell through. This episode clearly shows how pressure was put on the regional campaign not only through detentions or provocations, but also through more mundane means—blocking a venue, intimidating the landlord, leaving people without a hall. Despite this, the opening went ahead anyway.
11 photos