From a prison truck with love: events and people in 7x7’s focus

Mass protests in support of Alexei Navalny

The beginning of the year will go down in the history of Russia as the time of the most massive protests in the last decade. People hit the streets in all regions — from Vladivostok to Kaliningrad — to support politician Alexei Navalny, who came back to Russia and was later convicted. Some people took to the streets to express dissatisfaction with the current government and living conditions. Mass protests were followed by mass arrests. You can recall how the rallies were going here and here.

Living with wolves

In February, a story about Dmitry Samoilov from Smolensk, who opened a free animal hospital, was published on 7x7’s website. Wolves were among them. He became a real pack leader for them. Correspondent Alyona Khlimanova’s material was noted by the Vmeste (‘together’) Media Contest's jury and won in the Big Material nomination.

Special kid

This picture is part of a photo report by 7x7’s correspondent Maria Startseva from Kirov about a family with a special child. The photo shows a 10-year-old boy, Ilya, with his mother. When he was born, doctors told his parents that he would not live. Multiple conformational abnormalities were found in the boy, his heart could stop at any moment. But his parents began to fight for his life, 10 years have passed since then. Maria spent one day with Ilya's family and showed what home meant for special people.

Oil spill on the border of Komi and NAO

In May 2021, public attention was focused on the North. There was a major oil spill there, on the border of the Komi Republic and the Nenets Autonomous Okrug. The oil got into the soil and into the Pechora River. 7x7’s special correspondent Maxim Polyakov went to the village of Kolva, residents of which were the first to experience the accident’s consequences.

Explosion in a bus in Voronezh

In August, a bus exploded at a public transport stop in the center of Voronezh. There were people inside. 19 people were injured, two of them died. Experts said that they had not found any traces of explosives in the bus, but the authorities did not report the incident's true cause over time. 7x7’s correspondent spoke with the tragedy’s eyewitnesses.

Rallies in support of Furgal

On July 9, 2021, one year passed since the detention of Sergei Furgal, the former governor of the Khabarovsk Krai. Tens of thousands of people attended rallies and marches last summer and autumn, but eventually, the mass protest turned into an individual one due to police pressure, fines and arrests. 7x7’s special correspondent Maxim Polyakov visited Khabarovsk that summer and talked to people who continue taking to the streets.

Young circus artists

Activists organized a circus camp for teenagers on donations in Kaluga Oblast in the summer. Children from the village of Krivskoye and four cities of the region studied under real artists for seven days. Read a detailed report here.

Regions on fire

In the summer of 2021, a number of Russian regions were filled with smoke from forest fires. Tyumen Oblast, Karelia and Mari El suffered greatly from them.

Protests against QR codes

At the end of the year after the elections to the State Duma, the authorities decided to strengthen anti-coronavirus measures and started talking about the adoption of a law on QR codes. It was planned to make them mandatory in transport and for visiting public places. This caused mass protests in the regions. People held protest against the adoption of the law on QR codes, some opposed mandatory vaccination against coronavirus.

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