MOSCOW: It will be around minus 40 degrees Celsius (-40 Fahrenheit) on Sunday as some Russians in Yakutsk, one of the world’s coldest cities, join nationwide protests against the jailing of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.
It was -52C when they took to the streets last weekend.
“You always have to dress in a sort of spacesuit,” said Niurgun Semenov, a 26-year-old who protested last weekend. “It’s like going out into outer space. It’s extreme.”
Eastern Siberia’s Yakutsk, a city of more than 300,000 people, was the scene of a small opposition street rally on Saturday as around 150 people paced up and down for warmth in a white, glacial haze. Police detained around 30 people.
It was one of dozens of rallies that involved tens of thousands of people across Russia calling on authorities to release Navalny from jail.
Police said the rallies were illegal and detained over 4,000 people, according to a monitoring group. The police have not given an official number.
Navalny’s…