The illegal manifestations of the supporters of Alexei Navalny is an episode of the large war that the West is waging against Russia.
Summary
According to the BBC, there are “more and more” people joining the protests in support of Alexei Navalny. That is a lie. Even though Navalny’s video has been watched 100 million times, a mere several thousand people turned up for protests across Russia.
Disproof
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation seeking to discredit Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny and downplay the scale of the protests currently taking place in Russia.
Regardless of how one construes the term "several thousand," it certinaly does not apply to the ongoing rallies in Russia. According to Reuters, the initial round of protests on 23 January attracted 40,000 demonstrators in Moscow alone; the Russian independent news website MBK-Media estimated the total number of protesters nationwide at around 110,000; while the Russian opposition spoke of up to 160,000 individuals.
On the other hand, gauging the number of people who took part in the 31 January demonstrations in Moscow and St Petersburg was made difficult by the unprecedented number of riot police who physically barred pedestrian access to a number of key meeting spots and thoroughfares in both cities. According to a conservative estimate cited by the Open Media website, some 20,000 Petersburgers had turned up for protests by 13:00 that day, which would match or exceed MBK's tally for 23 January (10,000-20,000). Navalny's allies have stated that between 200,000 and 300,000 people across Russia participated in the 31 January rallies.
At least 11,000 people have been detained.
The EU has condemned mass detentions and police brutality during the protests in Russia.