TODAY: Navalny brothers trial ends with shocking verdict; thousands protest in Moscow; Pussy Riot member arrested; Putin New Year’s speech touches on Crimea, Olympics, and patriotism; Kremlin bails out Gazprombank and VTB.

The trial of anti-corruption campaigner and opposition figurehead Alexei Navalny, and his brother Oleg, concluded earlier this week as the pair were sentenced. The court decision was brought forward by two weeks, possibly to surprise supporters who had vowed to protest in the wake of the ruling.  The shocking verdict – in which Alexei escaped with a suspended sentence, but his brother was sentenced to jail – has drawn widespread criticism and suspicion. ‘For many Russians, and not only those sympathetic to Navalny’s cause, this apparent inconsistency echoed notorious Soviet-era tactics, where the perceived sins of one family member were visited on others,’ writes Mary Dejevsky, with a sentiment immediately understood by Alexei, who shouted ‘Why are you jailing him? Is that to punish me more?’ He later described it as ‘the most disgusting and vile of all possible verdicts’.  The verdict appears to have galvanized the Navalnys’ supporters, with thousands answering Alexei’s call to protest the ruling and gathering for an unsanctioned rally in Moscow’s Manezh Square on Tuesday night, with chants of ‘Putin is Russia’s shame!’ Many were detained – including Navalny himself, as well as Pussy Riot activist Maria Alyokhina.  This piece says that the Kremlin are starting to use social media tags to find and intimidate those who express or support anti-Kremlin sentiments.