Protestors clashed with police Tuesday after opposition leader Alexei Navalny descended on the Russian city of Astrakhan to back a local politician who is on a hunger strike to protest election fraud. Former mayoral candidate Oleg Shein from the opposition party A Just Russia has not eaten for 25 days to protest what he says was mass vote-rigging in March 4 elections won by the ruling United Russia party's candidate.
Supporters of the man some media have dubbed "the Russian Gandhi" held a series of impromptu rallies in the city Tuesday together with Navalny, but police attempted to stop them several times and detained some people. "There were clashes between our protestors and those who support the mayor-elect and the party of power United Russia," Shein told AFP by telephone from Astrakhan.
"Several hundred protestors wanted to peacefully walk towards the city hall to meet the election commission chief," said Shein, who has lost 10 kilos (22 pounds) in weight since he began refusing food. Protestors later held an impromptu rally that unexpectedly gathered 600 people, Shein said, obviously tired and struggling with words. "We didn't plan it, we just phoned people asking them to come."
Shein, who officially gathered only 30 percent of votes, against his opponent's 60 percent, said that his hunger strike will continue until officials announce a date for new polls. Shein and a group of around two dozen supporters from A Just Russia declared a mass hunger strike more than three weeks ago to call for new elections in the southern Volga city.
Shein claims votes were not counted and United Russia's Mikhail Stolyarov was arbitrarily declared the winner. Several videos from polling stations posted on Shein's blog show observers forced away from the counting process. The conflict escalated Tuesday as several opposition politicians including Navalny, who is one of the leaders of the protest movement against Vladimir Putin, arrived in the city and backed Shein's calls for a new mayoral election.
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