Russians stage Valentine's Day flashmobs to support Navalny

Residents of Moscow and Saint Petersburg stage Valentine Day’s flashmobs in residential courtyards and public squares, lighting their phone flashlights in support of jailed opposition politician Alexei Navalny.

Supporters of President Vladimir Putin’s most prominent critic take to the streets in freezing temperatures following his team’s call to stage 15-minute rallies and post pictures of the gatherings on social media this evening.

Young people turn on the flashlights of their mobile phones in support of jailed opposition politician Alexei Navalny near Red Square in Moscow on February 14, 2021. (Dimitar DILKOFF / AFP)

It is not immediately possible to estimate the scale of the rallies, but small groups of up to several dozen people were seen staging pro-Navalny flashmobs across Russia’s two biggest cities.

Protester Alexander Kozhokar, one of around 50 people who lit their phone lights on Manezhnaya Square near the Kremlin, says he fears that Russia is turning into a “dictatorship.”