It’s fair to question exactly how fidget spinners have become so popular. But one Russian TV network has taken it a little farther–and recently accused the popular toys of becoming a threat to national security.

A news report on the state-owned network Rossiya 24 claimed that opposition politician Aleksei A. Navalny is using fidget spinners to influence young people and raise money for his campaign. Navalny has been the target of repeated attacks and arrests, as he is determined to run against President Vladimir Putin in the general election next year.

“It is a mystery why it has become so popular in Russia right now. Who is promoting this to the masses so actively?” A reporter for the network said. But the implied suspect seemed to be either Navalny or America.

The reporter explained that a video blogger was selling fidget spinners at one of the recent anticorruption protests that Navalny inspired, under a banner that said “Spinners from Navalny.” The reporter also pointed out that the packaging of a spinner bought in Moscow only had instructions in English. “Not a word in Russian!” he exclaimed.

State-run news outlets in Russia said fidget spinners might be an American plot to “zombify” young Russians https://t.co/do0zuZ44oX

— The New York Times (@nytimes) July 19, 2017

One editor of a pro-government news site commented on Rossiya 24’s story, saying, “those who understand political technologies, they understand very clearly that this simple thing is controlling the masses.”

Another report on the same network claimed that the spinners can hypnotize and “zombify” people, effectively manipulating their behavior. The TV network even interviewed a psychologist, Svetlana Filatova, who said that the spinners dull people’s minds and warned that if you focus on one it will take “you to a different world.”

These recent reports prompted Russia’s consumer protection agency to launch an investigation into the little toys that were originally designed to help children focus.

“There has been an aggressive promotion of so-called spinners among children and teenagers in Russia recently,” the agency said, and added that it would study the effects the gadgets have on children, including any negative ones.

On Tuesday, Navalny posted a video of himself using a fidget spinner while waiting for the verdict at one of his trials back in May. But that move seems more like a tongue-in-cheek mocking of the Russian government than a call to arms for revolutionaries.

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.

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Thousands of people fanned out across cities in Russia to protest corruption on Sunday, the largest public demonstrations in five years. Hundreds were arrested, including Russian and foreign journalists and scores of young people. While the protests broadly targeted government corruption, there were few direct displays of dissent against President Vladimir Putin, who throughout his nearly 17-year rule has kept a tight grip on protests and opposition.

From Vladivostok in the east to Kaliningrad in the west to Moscow, protesters waved Russian flags and wielded banners and signs, chanting: “Russia without Putin,” and, in Moscow, “this is our city.” A spokesman for the Kremlin, Dmitry Peskov, called the protests a “provocation and a lie” and said young people were “promised financial rewards in the event of their detention by law enforcement agencies.”

Aleksei Navalny, an increasingly influential and strident opposition politician, called for the protests weeks ago. His Foundation for Fighting Corruption organized the demonstrations. Navalny, who ran for mayor of Moscow in 2013, was arrested in Moscow on Sunday while protesting. While some see him as a viable Putin opponent in the 2018 elections, he is widely expected to lose. In February, a Kremlin-backed court found him guilty of fraud (he denied the charge), further derailing his chances.

Unprecedented number of young Russians who’ve known no president but Putin came to protest him today. This looks like being the iconic shot pic.twitter.com/noRLeNNxDu

— max seddon (@maxseddon) March 26, 2017

Regardless of his political future, Navalny, who also helped organize the protests that followed tainted elections in 2011 and 2012, is hitting a nerve across the country. Sunday’s protests in Moscow were the most visible and received the harshest crackdown from authorities. Protesters were met with riot police and surveillance helicopters. The Moscow Police Department said “around 500” people were detained for an “unapproved public event.” A group that monitors arrests, OVD-info, said the number of arrests was closer to 1,000.

In the U.S., the White House response was muted; some lawmakers were vocal about the Kremlin’s swift response to the protests. Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NB) said in a statement: “Putin’s thugocracy is on full display. The United States government cannot be silent about Russia’s crackdown on peaceful protesters. Free speech is what we’re all about and Americans expect our leaders to call out thugs who trample the basic human rights of speech, press, assembly and protest.”

And while President Donald Trump–who is currently under investigation by the House and the Senate for his communications with Russia during the election–was silent on the issue, Mark Toner, the acting spokesman for the State Department said the U.S. “strongly condemns the detention of hundreds of peaceful protesters throughout Russia on Sunday.” He added: “Detaining peaceful protesters, human rights observers, and journalists is an affront to core democratic values.”

Alec Siegel

Alec Siegel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. When he’s not working at Law Street he’s either cooking a mediocre tofu dish or enjoying a run in the woods. His passions include: gooey chocolate chips, black coffee, mountains, the Animal Kingdom in general, and John Lennon. Baklava is his achilles heel. Contact Alec at ASiegel@LawStreetMedia.com.

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