Protests began on 11 July 2020 in Khabarovsk Krai, Russia, in support of the then governor, Sergei Furgal, after his arrest. Subsequently, a few protests in support of Furgal also took place in other cities including Novosibirsk, Vladivostok and Omsk. Background In September 2018, Sergei Furgal won Khabarovsk Krai's gubernatorial election, beating the incumbent from the United Russia party in a landslide victory. The Financial Times reported that "voters who flocked to Mr Furgal say they did so not for his or his party's distinct policies, but as a protest vote against the United Russia incumbent." In December 2018, President Putin changed the capital of the Far Eastern Federal District from Khabarovsk to Vladivostok. In September 2019, elections to the Legislative Duma of Khabarovsk Krai resulted in Furgal's party, the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR), to win by a landslide and the defeat of the ruling United Russia party. On 9 July 2020, Furgal was arrested by the Investigative Committee of Russia and flown to Moscow on charges of involvement in the murders of several businessmen in 2004–2005. He denied the allegations. According to LDPR leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky, he suggested Sergei Furgal temporarily resign his powers for the period of the investigation, to avoid a "hard scenario". According to him, Furgal was going to come to Moscow to resign a week before his arrest, however, because of the death of his brother, he remained in Khabarovsk. In the case of a conviction, Zhirinovsky promised to seek a pardon for Furgal. Timeline From 11 July 2020, protesters in Khabarovsk for months joined daily to support the now-fired governor Furgal and called for Putin to go. 2020 July On 11 July, 10 to 12 thousand people took part in a rally in Khabarovsk according to estimates by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The newspaper Kommersant mentioned an estimate of 30-35 thousand people "according to various sources". The protests are held conjointly with the internet campaign "I am/We are Sergei Furgal". On 12 July, Deputy Prime Minister of Russia — Presidential Plenipotentiary Representative to the Far Eastern Federal District Yury Trutnev arrived in Khabarovsk, who assessed the organisation of work of the region's leadership as poor, and said about the protests that "people have the right to express their opinions". On 15 July, the federal authorities started to use the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic to discourage people from attending the rallies.