Anti-Putin activists hold rally but numbers down
Source: Agencies |
March 11, 2012, Sunday
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MORE than 20,000 protesters flocked to a central Moscow avenue yesterday to demand Vladimir Putin's resignation and protest electoral fraud, but the crowd's relatively small size compared to recent protests suggested Russia's opposition movement has lost some momentum.
Putin, who was president from 2000-08 before switching to the prime minister's office due to term limits, won 64 percent of the vote in last Sunday's presidential election. Because of changes in the length of the presidential term, he is set to return to the Kremlin for at least six years. His decision to return to the presidency infuriated opposition activists who have grown tired of his heavy-handed rule. A December parliamentary election that was marred by fraud angered many ordinary Russians and bolstered opposition ranks.
Protests held after December's vote attracted up to 100,000 people in the largest discontent in Russia's post-Soviet history. Yesterday, the smaller crowd, surrounded by hundreds of troops and security forces, chanted: "We are the power!"
Although violations at the presidential vote were numerous, observers have viewed the vote as fairer than December's. But protesters said they do not recognize the vote's results. "These weren't elections. This isn't a president," read a banner.
Opposition leader Garry Kasparov echoed that sentiment from the stage.
"This was not an election," said Kasparov, a former chess grandmaster. "This was a special operation from a thug who wanted to return to the Kremlin."
Russian actor Maksim Vitorgan, who was among thousands of independent observers to have volunteered to monitor the presidential vote, said "an amusement park would envy" the large-scale fraud he witnessed.
"We know the truth, but what are we supposed to do with it?" Vitorgan added.
Putin, who was president from 2000-08 before switching to the prime minister's office due to term limits, won 64 percent of the vote in last Sunday's presidential election. Because of changes in the length of the presidential term, he is set to return to the Kremlin for at least six years. His decision to return to the presidency infuriated opposition activists who have grown tired of his heavy-handed rule. A December parliamentary election that was marred by fraud angered many ordinary Russians and bolstered opposition ranks.
Protests held after December's vote attracted up to 100,000 people in the largest discontent in Russia's post-Soviet history. Yesterday, the smaller crowd, surrounded by hundreds of troops and security forces, chanted: "We are the power!"
Although violations at the presidential vote were numerous, observers have viewed the vote as fairer than December's. But protesters said they do not recognize the vote's results. "These weren't elections. This isn't a president," read a banner.
Opposition leader Garry Kasparov echoed that sentiment from the stage.
"This was not an election," said Kasparov, a former chess grandmaster. "This was a special operation from a thug who wanted to return to the Kremlin."
Russian actor Maksim Vitorgan, who was among thousands of independent observers to have volunteered to monitor the presidential vote, said "an amusement park would envy" the large-scale fraud he witnessed.
"We know the truth, but what are we supposed to do with it?" Vitorgan added.
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