As mentioned previously, the peaceful protests have three main causes: first, it was the poisoning of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, for which he was treated in Germany, and his arrest when he got back.

Second, there was the inadequate response issued by the Russian Government, namely Putin’s Cabinet. This includes everything that has happened to Navalny and is quite likely fueled by the ongoing inadequate actions taken against protesters—beatings, among other human rights violations.

And third, much of the movement was also encouraged by the release of the documentary A Palace for Putin: The Story of the Biggest Bribe, a documentary narrated by Alexei Navalny himself and distributed by the Anti-Corruption Foundation of Russia.

Apart from this, some also speculate that people are just too tired of everything that has already happened prior to the recent events, and are protesting because it’s time for a change. The current protests fight for the release of Alexei Navalny and Vladimir Putin’s resignation as President.

Over 100 cities and towns across Russia were reported to have protests tied to Navalny and subsequent issues. Reports on the exact number of locations protesting is unclear as the issue is still ongoing, but as it stands now, it is said that there are between 112 and 122.

Moscow and Saint Petersburg were home to some of the largest protests, with records claiming an attendance of up to 70,000 people. Yekaterinburg, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Krasnodar, and Novosibirsk, among many other cities, had thousands of people take to the streets. It is estimated that over 120,000 people attended the protests nationwide.

Heaps upon heaps of visual footage and interesting photos have become available online, detailing every angle and detail of the protests, recording not only just how big the anti-corruption movement really is in the country, but also the state brutality against its citizens.

People were most baffled by footage of Yakutskians coming to protest—in negative 50 degrees Celsius (negative 58 degrees Fahrenheit)! That’s so cold, your spit could turn into ice by the time it reaches the ground. Yekaterinburg also recorded minus 30°C (minus 22°F) during protests, which isn’t as hardcore, but it still shows just how dedicated people are.