Krasnodar authorities sent a rally against the blocking of Telegram to the outskirts of the city.
The Krasnodar City Hall refused to grant the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF) permission to hold a rally against the blocking of Telegram at the requested location. Officials suggested holding the event at Klenovy Park, located ten kilometers from the city center.
On March 13, CPRF representatives submitted an application for a rally against the blocking and slowdown of Telegram and other messaging apps and social media. It was planned for March 28th with an estimated attendance of up to 500 people.
"And now we've received a response from Krasnodar officials: they've suggested we hold the rally in Klenovy Park late in the evening from 6 to 10 PM on Saturday. In case anyone doesn't know, Klenovy Park is about 10 kilometers from the city center along the highway toward Yelizavetinskaya Street," City Duma Deputy Alexander Safronov wrote today on his Telegram channel.
The deputy stated that the rally organizers were prepared for this scenario. They do not intend to hold the rally "on the outskirts of the city" and have rejected the proposed location. According to him, a new notification has been submitted for March 29th, specifying a different location.
"We will not hold the rally in the bushes on the outskirts, even if they send us back to that park to feast on squirrels," Safronov noted. According to him, the organizers have a "Plan B" and intend to hold the protest "in the city, not on the outskirts."
The deputy emphasized that the subordinates of Krasnodar Mayor Yevgeny Naumov and the mayor himself make no secret of their attitude toward residents. "They are simply mocking us, suggesting that we hold an evening rally on the outskirts of the city in the bushes," Safronov wrote.
As a reminder, in early March, a 20-year-old resident of Volzhsky submitted documents to the Volgograd mayor's office seeking approval for a protest against the blocking and slowdown of Telegram. In response, the Volgograd mayor's office proposed postponing the event "until the situation stabilizes." The organizer refused, after which "plainclothes men" came to her. The activist claims that security forces threatened her employer with problems and forced her to sign a "warning" refusing to participate in extremist activity, but did not provide a copy. Caucasian Knot also reported that activists from Krasnodar's Yubileiny microdistrict submitted three applications for rallies against the construction of a church on the embankment. All applications were denied, citing the sites being occupied by other events. However, the activists never saw any events. In total, Krasnodar authorities have denied residents' requests to hold rallies against embankment development more than 20 times.