MOSCOW?? Tens of thousands of Russians defied bitter cold in Moscow on Saturday to demand fair elections in a march against Vladimir Putin's 12-year rule, and supporters of the prime minister staged a rival rally drawing comparable numbers.
-
Only on msnbc.com
- Updated 19 minutes ago 2/4/2012 10:47:51 PM +00:00 Huge crowd protests upcoming Russian elections
- Some still dabble in hard drugs after 50
- Report: Climate of 'mistrust' in air marshal program
- Post SOPA, it's time to protest ACTA (on Feb. 11)
- Anti-Putin protesters cope with bitter cold and big questions
Opposition protesters also organized smaller protests in other cities across the vast country, trying to maintain pressure on Putin one month before a March 4 presidential election he is expected to win.
Their breath turning to white vapor clouds in the frigid Moscow air, tens of thousands of protesters marched within sight of the red-brick Kremlin walls and towers, chanting "Russia without Putin!" and "Give us back the elections!"
Russia Today reported that organizers were expecting about 50,000 people to take part in the event, which it summed up with the headline "Frozen fury."
It said there were due to be rallies at Bolotnaya Square and Pushkinskaya Square.
Putin was president from 2000 until 2008, when he ushered Dmitry Medevedev into the Kremlin because of a constitutional ban on three successive terms as head of state. Putin became prime minister but remained the dominant leader.
On Saturday, Putin was 900 miles from Moscow, promising angry residents of the Ural Mountains town of Roza the state would move 3,800 people from homes threatened by shifting ground on the edge of the biggest open-pit coal mine in Eurasia.
"You see what we are doing, we are dealing with concrete problems of the people who live here," Putin said when asked about the demonstrations.
Anti-Putin protesters cope with bitter cold and big questions
Temperatures far below freezing tested the power and perseverance of a street protest movement fuelled by suspicions of fraud in a December parliamentary election and dismay among some Russians over Putin's plan to rule at least six more years.
In the capital, demonstrators bundled up against the cold marched down a broad central street, many wearing white ribbons that have become symbols of protests. A digital clock flashed the midday temperature: minus 17 C (1 F).
"Not one vote for Putin!" Vladimir Ryzhkov, an opposition leader, said to a roar of approval from the crowd at the rally that followed the march. Protesters packed a square across the river from the Kremlin, stamping and clapping to keep warm.
Opposition leaders are trying to maintain momentum after tens of thousands turned out on December 10 and December 24 for the biggest opposition protests since Putin was first elected president in 2000.
Polls indicate Putin is all but certain to win the presidency despite a decline from previous popularity levels, but opponents hope persistent protests will undermine his authority in a new six-year term and push him into concessions.
"We have already reached a point of no return. People have stopped being afraid and see how strong they are together," said Ivan Kositsky, 49. He said Putin "wants stability, but you can only find stability in the graveyard."
Kositsky wore an orange ribbon in a reference to the 2004 Orange Revolution in Ukraine, where peaceful protests following allegations of widespread election fraud helped usher an opposition candidate to the presidency.
Opposition leaders said up to 120,000 people joined their protest in Moscow, which appeared as large as the December rallies -- suggesting their fears a cold snap might keep people away were unfounded.
Many protesters had banners making light of the bone-chilling weather and calling for Putin to stand down:
"Down with the cold, down with Putin," one banner said. Others declared: "They froze our democracy" and "We are frozen in solidarity."
Europe tries to shield homeless in deep freeze
For Putin
Police said 138,000 people attended the pro-Putin rally a few km (miles) away in Moscow, but reporters estimated the crowd was smaller than that, and attendance at demonstrations in support of the former KGB spy has previously been swelled by the authorities ferrying in sympathizers by bus.
Teachers have said they came under pressure from trade unions to attend the pro-Putin rally.
"Trade union representatives called us together and said at least five to 10 people from each school had to go (to the Putin rally)," said Sergei Bebchuk, a 54-year-old headteacher who ignored the request and attended the opposition protest.
"I have something I believe in. We could not go there," he said, his daughter at his side with white ribbons in her hair.
At the pro-Putin rally, demonstrators carried posters saying "For Putin" with a check mark in a box next to his face. Another read "Putin led Russia out of civil war" and one said, "My children will live in Russia - I need Putin."
In keeping with Putin's warnings against revolutionary change and the anti-Western rhetoric he has employed in his campaign, the rally was billed as "anti-orange" - another reference to Ukraine, where Moscow has said Western-funded activists helped bring a pro-Western leader to power.
"My aim is to support the movement against the 'orange ones' - those America sends us to topple those in power and rock society," Kirill Domchenko, 25, a Moscow university student.
Putin in December accused the United States of encouraging opposition protests and said Western states are spending billions to influence Russian elections. He praised the 'anti-orange' demonstrators in remarks late on Friday, saying "I am grateful to them, I share their views," Interfax reported.
Maintaining momentum
The main opposition protests were suspended over the long New Year holiday, when Russia comes to a halt. Opposition activists had been concerned that the protests might lose momentum after Putin, 59, ignored all their main demands.
The protesters want a rerun of the parliamentary election, the release of prisoners jailed for political reasons, reform of the political system, dismissal of the central election commission chief and registration of more political parties.
The Kremlin has promised to let more parties contest elections but has rejected its main demands. Ryzhkov told the crowd protests must continue until Putin gives in, and another protest is planned for one week before the election.
Crowds of a few hundred turned out to protest against Putin in other cities across Russia, although the number protesting is still only a small part of the more than 140 million population.
On a central street in the Pacific port city of Vladivostok, demonstrators carried banners reading "Putin - out!" and "The crook is making for the throne again ... send him to a prison bunk."
The protesters are angered by allegations of fraud in a December 4 parliamentary election that was won by Putin's ruling United Russia party, albeit with a reduced majority in the lower house.
The plan by Putin and Medvedev to swap jobs after the presidential election is viewed by opposition supporters as openly flouting democracy.
"We are not sheep or cattle. We deserve respect," said Marat Yafyasov, 54, a lawyer who travelled from Yaroslavl, 250 km (155 miles) northeast of Moscow, to join the protest.
"We are out in the cold because we can't let this moment go, we have to keep the protest going."
Reuters and msnbc.com staff contributed to this report.
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46262202/ns/world_news-europe/
punxsutawney phil groundhog day john goodman serrano groundhog day 2012 david blaine ground hog
