Dozens of people waited in line for over an hour on Saturday to submit petitions at the Russian Presidential Administration’s headquarters after messaging apps were blocked and mobile internet was shut down.
People waited for about an hour and a half because only one counter was open instead of ten, said an activist quoted by Nexta.
Participants estimated that around 200 people showed up to submit petitions, but some did not have the patience and left, saying they would register the petitions online.
The area was partially fenced off, and numerous security forces and officers from the "E" Center, an anti-extremism unit of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, were present on-site, writes Meduza.
The Dawn (Down) Party - founded by Ekaterina Dundova, a politician whose participation in the Russian presidential elections was rejected - announced at the end of March the mass submission of petitions.
Politicians Yulia Galyamina and Boris Nadejdin were also present at the Presidential Administration's reception.
"We need to make sure that society understands that there are plenty of safe ways to express their feelings about the ban," Galyamina told the independent Russian publication Sotavision.
Meanwhile, Nadejdin told reporters that the purpose of the action is to submit as many petitions as possible. He added that in addition to those who came to the reception, many others submitted petitions online.
Several protests against the internet blockade were planned in Russia at the end of March, but civic actions were not approved by the government under various pretexts, notes Meduza.
Five people involved in the protest against the internet blockade in Moscow, associated with the anonymous movement called "Crimson Swan," were placed under administrative arrest.
On March 29, when protests were scheduled, police detained 12 people in Bolotnaya Square in Moscow.
T.D.