DISINFO: Beijing uses the protests in Russia to gain leverage on the Kremlin
SUMMARY
Fake news also became the integral part of this anti-government campaign. They were mostly dedicated to alleged killings and incredible numbers of arrests by the authorities. These messages were actively endorsed by mainstream social media, including the Chinese-operated TikTok. While Washington, which prefers to see the Russian statehood destroyed, Beijing is also not averse to use the situation for getting additional leverage on the Kremlin to strengthen its own position in joint projects.
RESPONSE
The claim that Beijing have influence over the nation-wide January protests in Russia is not supported by any evidence.
This message is consistent with pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives that protests, disorders and civil uprisings are never manifestations of popular discontent but are "colour revolutions" directed and funded by foreign intelligence services or other actors in order to destabilise targeted foreign states and bring about regime change.
The 2021 Russian protests began on 23 January 2021 in support of the arrested opposition leader Alexei Navalny and as a reaction to the investigation Putin's Palace. The rallies — from Russia’s Far East to central Moscow — came less than a week after Navalny returned from Germany, where he recovered from a nerve agent poisoning in August during a trip to Siberia. Navalny was arrested shortly after stepping off the plane. More than 3,300 people were arrested in protests spanning nearly 70 cities and towns across Russia.
See other similar cases claiming that The neo-liberal forces behind Navalny will intensify their attempts to destroy Russia, or that The West is sending Navalny back to Russia to prevent him from becoming irrelevant.