Volgograd activists demand to release Andrei Pivovarov

The detention and arrest of Andrei Pivovarov, accused of collaborating with an undesirable organization, contradicts the democracy principles, activists have claimed at the solo pickets held in Volgograd.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on June 2, 2021, a Krasnodar court ruled to arrest Pivovarov under a criminal case on the activities of an undesirable organization. Andrei himself has linked his persecution with the upcoming elections.

On August 15, two activists held solo pickets in the Heroes' Alley in Volgograd. The activist, Tamara Grodnikova, stood with a poster "Freedom to Andrei Pivovarov!", and Vladimir Telpuk had a poster reading "Fight against corruption is extremism", the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent, who visited the picket venue, has reported.

Tamara Grodnikova explained to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that she was demanding "the release from SIZO (pre-trial prison) of Andrei Pivovarov, the former executive director of the "Open Russia"*.

According to Ms Grodnikova, the country "sees active attacks on the freedom of speech and opinion, and further destructs all the alternative political proposals." "In fact, all this is very similar to a full-scale dictatorship. Organizations, media and people are heavily labelled as undesirable in Russia. Ordinary law-abiding people are called extremists and are restricted in their civil rights," the activist has stated.

*The activities of the two organizations registered in Great Britain and containing the words "Open Russia" in their titles, have been recognized by the Russian General Prosecutor's Office (GPO) as undesirable in the territory of the country.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on August 15, 2021 at 06:20 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.