الرئيسية
Russia's
opposition plans to stage new nationwide demonstrations on Saturday,
expected to attract tens of thousands of people to protest alleged
rigging of December 4 parliamentary elections.
Incensed by claims
of wholesale violations in the polls that handed a reduced majority to
Vladimir Putin's ruling party, tens of thousands of people already took
to the streets across Russia on December 10.
Those protests were
the biggest show of public anger in Russia since the chaotic 1990s and
the first sign of a growing challenge to Putin's 12-year domination of
the country.
A coalition of opposition forces, encouraged by that
success, have called a new rally on Sakharov Avenue at 1000 GMT in
Moscow, with almost 50,000 people vowing on Facebook to attend.
Other
protests are expected elsewhere in Russia from Vladivostok in the Far
East to the exclave of Kaliningrad on the border with the European
Union.
Among those attending in Moscow may be the Soviet Union's
last leader Mikhail Gorbachev, 80, who has been virulently critical of
the elections, although his spokesman emphasised it would depend on how
he felt on the day.
Gorbachev said in an interview with the
Novaya Gazeta on Friday that he was ashamed by Putin's reaction to the
protests, after the Russian strongman compared the white ribbons worn by
demonstrators to condoms.
Charismatic anti-Kremlin blogger Alexei
Navalny is also expected to be present after his release from prison
following a brief sentence for his participation in a protest shortly
after the elections.
President Dmitry Medvedev Thursday proposed a
package of reforms in an apparent bid to appease the protestors,
including the resumption of direct elections for governors and a
simplified procedure to register political parties.
But it is
unlikely the moves will satisfy protestors who want the government to
annul the ballot results, sack election commission chief Vladimir
Churov, and hold a new vote.
In the face of the protests, the newly elected lower house of parliament, the State Duma, held its first session on Wednesday.
"People
are demanding the punishment of the guilty, the sacking of Churov," top
opposition leader Vladimir Ryzhkov told AFP. "People do not want to
live with the fraudulent Duma for the next five years."
The ruling
United Russia party won less than half the vote in the elections and
lost 77 seats as fatigue set in with the 12-year rule of Putin, who is
planning to win his old Kremlin job back in March polls and could stay
in power until 2024.
The opposition says the party's performance would have been even worse in free elections.
opposition plans to stage new nationwide demonstrations on Saturday,
expected to attract tens of thousands of people to protest alleged
rigging of December 4 parliamentary elections.
Incensed by claims
of wholesale violations in the polls that handed a reduced majority to
Vladimir Putin's ruling party, tens of thousands of people already took
to the streets across Russia on December 10.
Those protests were
the biggest show of public anger in Russia since the chaotic 1990s and
the first sign of a growing challenge to Putin's 12-year domination of
the country.
A coalition of opposition forces, encouraged by that
success, have called a new rally on Sakharov Avenue at 1000 GMT in
Moscow, with almost 50,000 people vowing on Facebook to attend.
Other
protests are expected elsewhere in Russia from Vladivostok in the Far
East to the exclave of Kaliningrad on the border with the European
Union.
Among those attending in Moscow may be the Soviet Union's
last leader Mikhail Gorbachev, 80, who has been virulently critical of
the elections, although his spokesman emphasised it would depend on how
he felt on the day.
Gorbachev said in an interview with the
Novaya Gazeta on Friday that he was ashamed by Putin's reaction to the
protests, after the Russian strongman compared the white ribbons worn by
demonstrators to condoms.
Charismatic anti-Kremlin blogger Alexei
Navalny is also expected to be present after his release from prison
following a brief sentence for his participation in a protest shortly
after the elections.
President Dmitry Medvedev Thursday proposed a
package of reforms in an apparent bid to appease the protestors,
including the resumption of direct elections for governors and a
simplified procedure to register political parties.
But it is
unlikely the moves will satisfy protestors who want the government to
annul the ballot results, sack election commission chief Vladimir
Churov, and hold a new vote.
In the face of the protests, the newly elected lower house of parliament, the State Duma, held its first session on Wednesday.
"People
are demanding the punishment of the guilty, the sacking of Churov," top
opposition leader Vladimir Ryzhkov told AFP. "People do not want to
live with the fraudulent Duma for the next five years."
The ruling
United Russia party won less than half the vote in the elections and
lost 77 seats as fatigue set in with the 12-year rule of Putin, who is
planning to win his old Kremlin job back in March polls and could stay
in power until 2024.
The opposition says the party's performance would have been even worse in free elections.