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davidn3600

(6,342 posts)
Sun Sep 16, 2012, 02:48 AM Sep 2012

Anti-Putin protesters show their strength in Russia

Source: Reuters through Yahoo

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of demonstrators marched though Moscow under streaming banners, flags and balloons on Saturday to demand an end to President Vladimir Putin's long rule and show their protest movement remains strong.

Protesters chanted "Russia without Putin!" in the first big rally since June, defying increasingly tough Kremlin measures against the opposition since the former KGB spy began another six years in the Kremlin in May.

Some demonstrators released colorful balloons decorated with ski masks like the ones worn by the Pussy Riot punk band, three of whose members have been jailed for singing a profanity-laced protest song against Putin in a church.

Witnesses said opposition leaders appeared to have achieved their goal of attracting at least 50,000 people, enough to maintain the momentum of their nine-month-old movement but almost certainly too few to increase alarm in the Kremlin.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/anti-putin-protesters-show-strength-russia-060539510.html

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David__77

(23,220 posts)
1. "Former spy..."
Sun Sep 16, 2012, 02:56 AM
Sep 2012

It's funny, because George H.W. Bush was former HEAD of the CIA, but foreign media did not regularly refer to him as "former spy."

 

loli phabay

(5,580 posts)
3. pah 50,000 in russia thats less than a soccer match attendance so probuably wont scare the kremlin
Sun Sep 16, 2012, 03:24 AM
Sep 2012

i missed the election how many votes did putin get,

pampango

(24,692 posts)
7. "Leftists, liberals and nationalists mixed with students, teachers, gay activists and others as they
Sun Sep 16, 2012, 06:18 AM
Sep 2012

marched down Moscow's tree-lined boulevards chanting "Russia without Putin!" and "We are the power here!" Many wore the white ribbons that have become the symbol of the protest movement."

The first major protest against President Vladimir Putin after a summer lull drew tens of thousands of people, determined to show that opposition sentiment remains strong despite Kremlin efforts to muzzle dissent. The street protests broke out after a December parliamentary election won by Putin's party through what observers said was widespread fraud, and they grew in strength ahead of Putin's effectively unopposed election in March to a third presidential term.

Putin has shown less tolerance for the opposition since his inauguration in May. New repressive laws have been passed to deter people from joining protests, and opposition leaders have been subject to searches and interrogations.

Gleb Pavlovsky, a former Kremlin political consultant, who attended Saturday's rally, estimated that up to 500,000 people have taken part in the protests in Moscow, a city of 11.5 million. He said the Kremlin has not figured out how to deal with the protest movement. "Therefore, they alternate between taking tough action and stepping back from confrontation," Pavlovsky said. "For the Kremlin, it is very worrying that Moscow no longer supports Putin ..."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/15/russia-protests-anti-putin_n_1886463.html

I doubt these demonstrations worry Mr. Putin very much. He knows where his power lies and it is not threatened by people massing in the streets.
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