Opposition rallies in Moscow amid
wider crackdown
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| A woman holds a placecard saying "demanding fair signature counting" (AFP) |
At least 1,000 opposition supporters gathered in central
Moscow to demand that authorities include opposition candidates on ballots for
an upcoming city parliament election in September.
By Stefan J. Bos
At least 1,000 opposition supporters gathered in central
Moscow to demand that authorities include opposition candidates on ballots for
an upcoming city parliament election in September.
They gathered despite authorities disapproving of the
protest.
The demonstrators are upset that the Moscow election
commission rejected signatures supporting several candidates.
Demonstrators on Sunday chanted "We are the
authority here!". And referring to the Russian president, they shouted:
"Putin is a thief."
Ilya Yashin, one of the candidates who saw signatures
invalidated, urged demonstrators to march with him to the mayor's office to
state their election demands.
Broader concerns
unday's rally comes amid broader concerns about a reported
crackdown by authorities on those opposing the president Vladimir Putin's rule.
Among others opposing the president is Alexei Navalny,
Russia's most famous opposition leader.
However, supporting Sunday's demonstration is not
without risk for Navalny.
During a packed Russian court hearing, Navalny was already
sentenced to 10 days in jail this month for taking part in another unsanctioned
rally in June.
Charges dropped
That protest was part of a series of rallies sparked by the
detention of a prominent investigative reporter on drug-dealing charges.
The case of journalist Ivan Golunov caused public outrage,
and Russian President Vladimir Putin responded by firing two senior police
officers.
Charges against the journalist were dropped within days for
lack of evidence.
Despite these small steps, the opposition claims it will
take time to turn Russian into a full-fledged democratic society.
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