By Bond Robertson 
More than 7,600 Russians have been arrested in anti-war demonstrations and its president, Vladimir Putin. Among them there must be many children.
The Russian human rights organization reported that at least 725 people were arrested, Wednesday, in 32 different cities in Russia OVD- Information.
In Moscow, Russian police arrested five children for carrying flowers and colorful posters telegraph.
The children, who are said to be between 7 and 11 years old, were taken with their mothers. The newspaper reported that the flowers and posters they were carrying were to be placed outside the Ukrainian embassy in Moscow.
An eyewitness wrote on Facebook that the police seized the mothers’ phones and threatened them with losing custody. The story has been verified by a Russian newspaper among others Novaga Gazeta The online newspaper Meduza.
A video shared on Facebook will show children and a mother talking during the event:
Perhaps for the safety of my family it would have been better for me to be quiet and not to go anywhere, but I can no longer, writes what a mother should be on her Facebook profile.
I wrote that they were going to lay flowers at the Ukrainian embassy, but the police did not immediately allow them to do so.
– We were told not to gather. The police took care of me in front of my children. The children cried hard. She wrote it was hell.
She said everyone was handcuffed or behind bars, and they were taken to the police station.
One of the women who mentioned the incident on Facebook wrote that they will now be released, but will be prosecuted. It is not clear if this also applies to children.
violent arrests
So far, Russian police have arrested at least 7,603 people as a result of the protests, according to the organization. It is unclear how many Russian citizens there are, but it is estimated that a significant proportion of them are.
On Wednesday, mass demonstrations took place in the large cities of Saint Petersburg and Moscow. Several photos show the Russian police in full combat against civilians.
Protests are also taking place in cities such as Yekaterinburg, Chelyabinsk, Novosibirsk, Mud, Arkhangelsk and Murmansk.
– They took me and threw me on a bus with all their might, says freelance journalist Andrei Kalekh (49 years old) OVD- info.
violent arrests
On Wednesday, mass demonstrations took place in the large cities of Saint Petersburg and Moscow. Several photos show the Russian police in full combat against civilians.
Protests are also taking place in cities such as Yekaterinburg, Chelyabinsk, Novosibirsk, Mud, Arkhangelsk and Murmansk.
– They took me and threw me on a bus with all their might, says freelance journalist Andrei Kalekh (49 years old) OVD- info.
On Sunday, Kalich is said to have taken to the streets of Saint Petersburg to demonstrate when he was arrested.
VG tried to reach out to Kalikh on Wednesday night, but so far it hasn’t worked. to times But he says he was surprised by the police’s brutality.
According to him, the Russian police, armed with helmets, flak jackets and batons, have no reservations about resorting to violence to control the demonstrators.
They grabbed me by the neck, bent me, and kicked me in the legs. He told the organization that they cursed us loudly and threatened us.
He added that he was dragged on the asphalt before being thrown on the bus.
– Many were dragged into the crowd, but I did not see it myself – my head was on the ground.
Russian police arrested 77-year-old Yelena Osipova Watchman.
Watch the event video:
shoulder joint
The activist also told OVD-Info that the police forced people to board buses that took them to various police stations.
– After the adrenaline was gone, I felt a pain in my shoulder. Someone helped me with water and painkillers. I later found out that my shoulder joint was sticking out.
Khalikh described the policemen at the station as being more moderate and kind than those who carried out the arrests themselves.
– They saw what happened to me and sent me to the hospital. A policeman in the ambulance followed me and treated me with respect.
1 of 3Photo: Dmitriy Lovitsky/The Associated Press
Freedom has a price
From Moscow, teacher Irina Bogantseva says the police took all her belongings when she was arrested – including the medicines she was taking.
– I will turn 70 this year, and I have high blood pressure. I asked if I could keep the medication, but they replied they couldn’t, she told OVD-Info.
– They said that if I got sick, they would call an ambulance. I asked if it wouldn’t be best to stop her from getting to the point where an ambulance would be required.
Boganseva says that she was released the next day, and that the judge imposed a fine of 150,000 Russian rubles – the equivalent of more than 13,000 Norwegian kroner.
– The judge asked me if I agreed with the size of the fine. “Yes,” I replied. “I know that freedom has a price.”
Russians urged to continue protest
Earlier Wednesday, imprisoned Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny urged Russians to continue organizing daily protests against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Reuters.
Navalny, one of Putin’s biggest critics, was jailed last year.
– We can’t wait another day. Wherever you are, in Russia, Belarus or on the other side of the planet. Go out to your city’s main plaza every day at 19.00 on weekdays, and at 14.00 on weekends and holidays, he said in a statement posted by his spokesperson on Twitter.
On the call, he described the country’s president, Vladimir Putin, as a “clearly insane czar”.
Let us at least not become a nation made up of a fearful and silent people. Cowards pretend not to notice the aggressive war against Ukraine.