Protests in Khabarovsk Krai began on 11 July 2020 in support of the current governor, Sergei Furgal, after his arrest. Subsequently, a few protests in support of Furgal also took place in other cities including Novosibirsk, Vladivostok and Omsk.
Background
In September 2018, Sergei Furgal won Khabarovsk Krai's gubernatorial election, beating the candidate from the United Russia party. In December, President Putin changed the capital of the Far Eastern Federal District from Khabarovsk to Vladivostok. In September 2019, elections to the Legislative Duma of the Khabarovsk territory resulted in Furgal's party, the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, to win by a landslide and the defeat of the ruling United Russia party. On 9 July 2020, the governor of the region, Sergei Furgal, was arrested by the Investigative Committee of Russia and flown to Moscow on charges of involvement in the murders of several businessmen in 2004-05. He denied the allegations. According to the Liberal Democratic leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky, he suggested Sergei Furgal temporarily resign his powers for the period of the investigation, to avoid a "hard scenario". According to him, Furgal a week before his arrest was going to come to Moscow to resign, however, because of the death of his brother, he remained in Khabarovsk. In the case of a conviction, Zhirinovsky promised to seek a pardon for Furgal.
Timeline
On 11 July, 10 to 12 thousand people took part in a rally in Khabarovsk according to estimates by the Ministry of internal Affairs. The newspaper Kommersant mentioned an estimate of 30-35 thousand people "according to various sources". The protests are held conjointly with the internet campaign "I am/We are Sergei Furgal". On 12 July, Deputy Prime Minister of Russia — Presidential Plenipotentiary Representative to the Far Eastern Federal District Yury Trutnev arrived in Khabarovsk, who assessed the organisation of work of the region's leadership as poor, and said about the protests that "people have the right to express their opinions". On 18 July, up to ten thousand people were estimated to have taken part in a rally in Khabarovsk that day according to the city's mayoral office, with other estimates ranging up to 50 thousand people. The police did not interfere and distributed face masks to the protesters. In Vladivostok, around 500-1000 people took part in a rally - police did not interfere but afterwards it was known that two activists were arrested. In Komsomolsk-on-Amur, around 1000 people took part in a rally in support of Furgal. On 20 July, President Vladimir Putin dismissed Sergei Furgal due to a "loss of confidence". Mikhail Degtyarev, an MP from the city of Samara, who is also a member of the LDPR, was appointed acting governor until next year's election. Protesters reacted negatively to the appointment of Degtyarev who arrived in the region on 21 July. In response to calls to go back to Moscow, Degtyarev said that he would not leave and that someone else would replace him if he did. During his press conference, Degtyarev said that he does not intend to compete with Furgal in the election if he is acquitted and decides to run for Governor again. In this case, Degtyarev will "pack up and return to Moscow". Degtyarev suggested, without evidence, that foreign citizens had flown to Khabarovsk to help organise the protests. On 21 July, two regional lawmakers in Khabarovsk, Pyotr Yemelyanov and Aleksandr Kayan, opted to leave the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia in protest against Furgal's dismissal. On 25 July, tens of thousands of people were estimated to have taken part in the third major rally in Khabarovsk. Protests in the city were held for the fifteenth day in a row. Some sources estimated the rally to be the largest one so far, however the mayoral office estimated 6,500 protesters. The protests included chants of "Away with Putin!", "This is our region", "Furgal was our choice" or "shame on LDPR." On 28 July, the first arrest was made in Khabarovsk. The owner of the "Furgalmobile" food truck was charged under Article 20.2 of the Code of Administrative Offences of the Russian Federation. On 1 August, the fourth major rally took place in Khabarovsk. Kommersant estimated the turnout to be no less than in the last two weeks, despite the heavy rain in the first half of the day, however the mayoral office estimated 3,500 people. Other independent estimates ranged from 15 to 50 thousand people. Protests took place in other Russian cities, including Irkutsk, Kazan and Krasnodar. In St. Petersburg and Moscow, dozens were detained. According to The Moscow Times, the protests have become increasingly anti-Kremlin in the last couple of weeks, with the authorities starting to crack down as two protesters that week were handed two-week long prison sentences and another two on the eve of Saturday's rally were detained and held overnight.
Polls
In a Levada Center poll carried out from 24 to 25 July 2020, 83% of respondents knew or had heard about the protests, with 45% of them viewing the protests positively, 26% neutrally and 17% negatively.
