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Why is Kremlin Tagging Protesters 'Political Pedophiles'?

Jamie Dettmer

   Russia's state-controlled media has been turning to a disinformation
   playbook it has used before in a bid to discredit protesters agitating
   for the release from prison of Kremlin critic AlexeiNavalny, say
   analysts.

   Navalny was detained on his return to Moscow for parole violations
   after recovering in Germany from a near-fatal poisoning. His arrest has
   triggered the largest anti-Kremlin protests seen in Russia since 2011,
   and Washington is being blamed for the demonstrations, with Kremlin
   officials and state media presenters alleging that Western powers,
   mainly the U.S., are behind the agitation.

   "Washington is becoming a convenient pretext for accusations, although
   in reality it has very little to do with what is happening," Donald
   Jensen, director of the United States Institute of Peace, a research
   organization, told VOA's Russian service. "This is a question for
   (Russian President Vladimir) Putin and the Russian people, and it is
   clear that a significant minority of Russians are unhappy."

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