Short answers, pulled from the story.
The white-blue-white flag serves as a visual marker for deep splits within Russian dissent and is currently used by various opposition groups since 2022. This symbol represents non-systemic organizations that actively oppose the government while remaining unrepresented in official bodies.
Protests against Vladimir Putin began from the 31st of March to the 14th of April 2001 following the takeover of independent television NTV by Putin-aligned Gazprom. Opposition members including Boris Nemtsov and Grigory Yavlinsky demanded preservation of ownership critical of the Russian government during this period.
At least 14,906 people were detained from the 24th of February to the 13th of March following the invasion according to OVD-Info records. The largest single-day mass arrests in post-Soviet Russian history occurred on the 6th of March during this timeframe.
Alexei Navalny died in suspicious circumstances in his harsh imprisonment at a prison colony in the Arctic Circle aged only 47 on the 16th of February 2024. His wife stated that his body was being kept until traces of intentional poisoning by Novichok had disappeared before authorities returned it eight days later.
Nadezhdin was barred from running on the 8th of February 2024 because the election commission claimed only 95,587 of his signatures were valid out of 105,000 submitted. The commission also claimed there were eleven dead people on his list which disqualified his entire candidacy despite evidence showing errors like typos in names and addresses.