Alexei Navalny's associates have created a site on the dark web that will reopen Navalny's Headquarters, recognized in Russia as "extremist organizations." This drew the attention of the Telegram channel "Caution, the news." Former FBK director Ivan Zhdanov said that a “system protected from the state where everything is encrypted” has been created.
The authors argue that the new platform will allow Navalny's supporters to unite in "underground headquarters" and coordinate their activities – political actions, posting leaflets and "more risky actions."
“Anything that will bring the end of Putin and the war closer,” Zhdanov said.
The site itself is registered on the onion domain, which works through the Tor browser – it anonymizes user traffic and guarantees privacy on the network.
“Even we don’t have access to data about you,” Zhdanov says.
At the same time, in order to gain access to the site on onion, you need to fill out a form on the regular (.com) site of Navalny's associates. And only after that the user will receive a login and password to the “underground headquarters” on his personal mail.
Zhdanov himself emphasizes that the login and password are one-time, and they need to be changed after entering the site, and Navalny's headquarters will delete the user mail data.
On June 9, 2021, the Moscow City Court recognized the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK), the headquarters of Alexei Navalny and the Foundation for the Protection of Citizens' Rights as "extremist organizations." Their activities are officially banned, and their members and even just supporters, according to the new law, will not be able to be elected to legislative bodies at all levels for several years. Prior to this, FBK was recognized as an organization playing the role of a “foreign agent”.
Since the recognition of Navalny’s headquarters as an “extremist organization,” criminal cases have been opened against the former heads of regional branches, searches have been carried out in their homes. This year, after the start of the war in Ukraine, criminal cases began to be initiated against the heads of staff under new articles on “discrediting” the Russian army.