Facebook caves to Russian censorship, blocks page supporting Putin critic

Facebook has blocked a page calling for a protest in support of a prominent opposition leader in Russia, apparently at the request of Vladimir Putin's government.

The page was created on Dec 19 to organize a Moscow demonstration to support Alexei Navalny, an anti-Putin blogger who has been targeted by the Russian regime since 2011, when he spearheaded widespread anti-government protests. Russian prosecutors called for Navalny to serve a 10-year jail sentence on nebulous charges of embezzlement, sparking calls for pro-Navalny protests. The Facebook event page, which has 13,000 attendees as of the morning of Dec 22, was blocked within Russia on Dec 20, though it remains online for users outside the country.