The protest campaign against the local self-government reform in the region began in June. At that time, a group of activists blocked the Chuysky Trakt near the Chike-Taman pass.
The protesters demanded that village councils be preserved and that Governor Andrey Turchak resign. Although the action took place far from the republic’s capital and, according to the text, did not cause a traffic collapse, the authorities reacted quickly.
Security forces detained eight protesters. Some of them were given administrative arrests of 13 to 14 days.
Turchak sharply condemned the action, calling it an “orgy at Chike-Taman,” and said there were “dozens of legal ways to convey one’s position to the authorities.”
After that, the reform’s opponents, the article says, began acting in precisely that format and cautiously trying those “dozens of ways.”
They attempted to hold one-person pickets, organized photo flash mobs, met with deputies, and gathered for public assemblies.
On June 21, the protesters managed to secure approval for a rally in Gorno-Altaysk. According to the organizers, 4,000 people attended.