Navalny​ ​Holds​ ​Rally​ ​In​ ​Orenburg​ ​After​ ​Police​ ​Detention

Up to 1,500 people are estimated to have attended an Aleksei Navalny rally in the city of Orenburg on the Ural River.

Russian​ ​opposition​ ​politician​ ​Aleksei​ ​Navalny​ ​met​ ​with​ ​residents​ ​in​ ​Orenburg​ ​in​ ​the​ ​Urals​ ​on​ ​September 30​ ​as​ ​part​ ​of​ ​his​ ​campaign for the March 2018 presidential election.

The​ ​event​ ​was​ ​sanctioned​ ​by​ ​the​ ​city​ ​authorities.

According​ ​to​ ​several​ ​estimates​ ​there​ ​were​ around​ ​800 to 1,500​ ​people​ ​at​ ​the​ ​event.

Navalny​ ​flew​ ​to​ ​Orenburg​ ​in​ ​the​ ​morning,​ ​hours​ ​after​ ​Moscow​ ​police​ ​released​ ​him​ ​from​ ​detention​ ​late​ ​on September​ ​29​ ​where​ ​he​ ​was​ ​held​ ​for​ ​about​ ​10​ ​hours,​ ​in​ ​a​ ​move​ ​that​ ​prevented​ ​him​ ​from​ ​speaking​ ​at​ ​a rally​ ​in​ ​Nizhny​ ​Novgorod.

He​ ​has​ ​been​ ​ordered​ ​to​ ​appear​ ​at​ ​an​ ​administrative​ ​hearing​ ​on​ ​October​ ​2​ ​on​ ​charges​ ​of​ ​repeatedly organizing​ ​illegal​ ​demonstrations.

Navalny​ ​has​ ​vowed​ ​to​ ​keep​ ​holding​ ​rallies​ ​that​ ​have​ ​drawn​ ​thousands​ ​of​ ​people​ ​across​ ​Russia.

We​ ​are​ ​not​ ​going​ ​to​ ​stop​ ​what​ ​we​ ​do,​ ​whatever​ ​the​ ​obstacles,"​ ​Navalny​ ​told​ ​journalists​ ​waiting​ ​for​ ​him outside​ ​the​ ​Moscow​ ​police​ ​station.

Navanly​ ​plans​ ​to​ ​attend​ ​another​ ​demonstration​ ​in​ ​the​ ​northern​ ​city​ ​of​ ​Archangelsk​ ​on​ ​October​ ​1.

Since​ ​announcing​ ​last​ ​year​ ​that​ ​he​ ​would ​run​ ​in​ ​the​ ​March​ ​2018​ ​presidential​ ​election,​ ​Navalny,​ ​41,​ ​a​ ​vocal critic​ ​of​ ​President​ ​Vladimir​ ​Putin,​ ​has​ ​opened​ ​more​ ​than​ ​60​ ​campaign​ ​offices​ ​in​ ​different​ ​regions​ ​of Russia.