https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-09-12/russia-turns-trampled-grass-into-weapon-against-opponents
Russia Turns Trampled Grass Into Weapon Against Opponents
By Jake Rudnitsky and Ilya Arkhipov
September 12, 2019, 4:12 AM CDT
A state-owned organization responsible for maintaining Moscow’s roads is seeking compensation from protest leaders for grass trampled during a recent unsanctioned protest, part of a multi-pronged assault on the opposition that included raids on Alexey Navalny’s network of offices around the country Thursday.
The authorities raided at least 39 offices in Navalny’s political network, seeking evidence for a money laundering investigation started last month against his Anti-Corruption Foundation, his ally Leonid Volkov wrote on Facebook. The searches came a day after the road agency Avtodor was in court seeking 12 million rubles ($183,000) from nine leaders of the recent protests in the capital to compensate for grass allegedly damaged during a July 27 protest.
The new assaults on the opposition come as the Kremlin scrambles to contain a wave of protests sparked by the refusal to allow independent politicians on the ballot for a local election. Other efforts, which included attempting to strip people of their parental rights for attending rallies, breaking up protests with riot police and arresting thousands, fueled popular anger, spurring the largest demonstrations since President Vladimir Putin returned to the presidency in 2012 after four years as prime minister.
“Even if they start to seize property, it will only mobilize the opposition more,” Kirill Rogov, a Moscow-based political analyst, said of the new tactics. “They’ve attempted depriving parents of their rights and property claims. But the laws that they passed were not enough to prevent street protests. They’re searching for new methods.”
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