Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny calls President Putin 'insane czar', encourages anti-invasion protests

Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny called Russian President Vladimir Putin an "insane czar" in a tweet on Wednesday and asked Russians to stage daily protests against Moscow's military campaign in Ukraine.

"Let's at least not become a nation of... cowards who pretend not to notice the aggressive war against Ukraine unleashed by our obviously insane czar," the tweet from Navalny's account read.

"Wherever you are, in Russia, Belarus or on the other side of the planet, go to the main square of your city every weekday and at 2 pm on weekends and holidays," another tweet from the account added.

2/12 But let's at least not become a nation of frightened silent people. Of cowards who pretend not to notice the aggressive war against Ukraine unleashed by our obviously insane czar.

— Alexey Navalny (@navalny) March 2, 2022

Navalny's spokesperson Kira Yarmysh also reiterated his call.

"Alexei Navalny has called for people to go out and protest against the war every day at 19:00 and on weekends at 14:00. The main squares of your towns, wherever you are," Yarmysh tweeted.

Navalny's movement had previously called for a campaign of civil disobedience to protest against Russia's invasion of its neighbour.

Navalny, the most prominent opponent of President Vladimir Putin, was jailed last year after he returned to Russia from Germany following his recovery from what Western laboratory tests established was an attempt to poison him with a nerve agent in Siberia. Russia denied carrying out such an attack.

Since then, authorities have clamped down even more tightly on his movement, and key figures have fled into exile after being designated by the authorities as "foreign agents".

(Reuters)