Russian opposition leader calls for worldwide protests

View in browser   March 2, 2022 Good afternoon. Alexei Navalny, the imprisoned leader of the anti-Putin opposition within Russia, today urged his fellow citizens to take to the streets to actively resist what he called "the aggressive war against Ukraine unleashed by our obviously insane czar." "Each arrested person must be replaced by two newcomers," a spokesperson posted to Twitter on his behalf. "If in order to stop the war we have to fill prisons and paddy wagons with ourselves, we will fill prisons and paddy wagons with ourselves." Navalny himself has been in prison since 2021, for what he has described as trumped-up charges of embezzlement—and that's after he survived an alleged assassination attempt. Despite the extraordinary lengths authorities have gone to silence him, he's often regarded to be one of the most significant Kremlin critics of the last decade, with an ability to rally young Russians against Putin, even under the threat of imprisonment and police crackdowns. Although his reach and influence is limited, his call today was another reminder that Putin will have to manage a backlash, not only from the world, but also from within his own country. We've continued to track the latest news out of Ukraine throughout the day. Check out Isabela Dias's interview with a woman who fled the country and Kiera Butler's latest about the role anti-vaccine groups have played in spreading pro-Putin propaganda. – Noah Y. Kim Advertisement   Alexei Navalny Calls for Worldwide Protests to Demand End to War The jailed dissident condemned Putin's actions, calling him an "obviously insane czar." BY NOAH Y. KIM   Montana's governor killed a cat on public land BY ABIGAIL WEINBERG Biden rallied Congress with a furious rebuke of Putin in his first State of the Union. BY ABIGAIL WEINBERG She escaped from Ukraine. Now she's haunted by guilt about those she left behind. OLHA MARTYNYUK AS TOLD TO ISABELA DIAS Jerome Powell says the Fed will raise interest rates for the first time since 2018 BY JACOB ROSENBERG Advertisement   Pro-Putin disinformation is thriving in online anti-vax groups All the usual themes: Secret government alliances, anti-Semitic tropes, and nefarious scientists. BY KIERA BUTLER   Support from readers allows Mother Jones to do journalism that doesn't just follow the pack. Donate Did you enjoy this newsletter? Help us out by forwarding it to a friend or sharing it on Facebook and Twitter. Donate Subscribe This message was sent to franchmaverickk.secretwords123@blogger.com. To change the messages you receive from us, you can edit your email preferences or unsubscribe from all mailings. For advertising opportunities see our online media kit. Were you forwarded this email? Sign up for Mother Jones' newsletters today. www.MotherJones.com PO Box 8539, Big Sandy, TX 75755