Putin Opponent Navalny Accuses YouTube of Briefly Blocking Video Calling for Mass Protests

Russian activist and politician Alexi Navalny has said he believed pressure from the Kremlin prompted YouTube to block a video on December 27 in which he called for nationwide protests.The video features Navalny asking his supporters to take part in protests over the rejection of his application for the Russian presidential elections. It was posted on YouTube on Wednesday afternoon, Navalny said, but soon became unavailable. The video is currently available on YouTube and Storyful cannot confirm how long it was down for.On his website, Navalny said the “formal reason” given for the removal was that the video description used “illegal hashtags”, which he said included, “strike”, “January 28”, and “Navalny2018”.He suggested the Kremlin was behind the incident, either through the alleged mass complaints of “Kremlin bots”, or the alleged influence exerted on the platform by the Kremlin.Navalny is currently prohibited from running for political office due to a criminal record stemming from 2013 embezzlement charges. Navalny and his supporters claim the charges were politically motivated.Navalny has appealed to Russia’s Supreme Court to declare the decision by the Central Election Commission illegal. The case was scheduled for 11 am on December 30. Credit: YouTube/Alexei Navalny via Storyful