Anastasia Deyneka, coordinator of the campaign HQ in Rostov

by Sarah Hurst

The coordinator of Alexei Navalny’s headquarters in Rostov-on-Don, Anastasia Deyneka, has been jailed for eight days, and campaign employee Vladimir Kobzev for 10 days. Journalist and campaign employee Timofey Martynenko has been fined 250,000 roubles ($4,421), and campaign employee Leonid Sankin 75,000 roubles ($1,326), OVD-Info reported this evening.

The court in Rostov-on-Don based the penalties on its decision that the voters’ gathering on December 24 to nominate Navalny as a presidential candidate was an unsanctioned rally. Gatherings were held all over Russia on that day, including in Moscow and St. Petersburg. At least one such gathering is legally obligatory for anyone wanting to be an independent presidential candidate. The Kremlin held a star-studded event to put Vladimir Putin foward as a candidate shortly afterwards.