People unhappy with the arrest and sacking of Sergey Furgal have been staging protests in the Far Eastern Russian city since July, when his career as a governor was torpedoed by a criminal investigation. Each Saturday a progressively larger gathering was held, with smaller protests organized during workdays.

25 people were arrested at this week’s rally on Saturday, the first to be limited by police action, according to authorities. Local media reported a confrontational atmosphere at the demonstration from the outset. Anywhere between 500 and 1,000 people marched through Khabarovsk, according to different estimates.

The mood deteriorated further when the protesters reached the square in the city center, where the regional government building is located. They started setting up tents on a lawn, saying they were there for a permanent sit-in.

Law enforcement gave the order for the demonstrators to stop, but that was ignored, the police then used force against them. Despite the clash, several hundred protesters remained in the square for hours after the unrest.

Furgal was elected governor of Khabarovsk Region in 2018 in a landslide victory. He was arrested in July on suspicion of ordering three murders in the mid-2000s, leading to his sacking from office weeks later by a presidential decree. He denies the accusations and remains a popular figure in the city.

Initial protests in Furgal’s support attracted tens of thousands of people, which is an impressive achievement in a city that has about 600,000 residents. Much of that momentum however has been lost over the last three months.

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