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Chaos predicted as opposition split
Anna Sulimina - Moscow News - themoscownews.com - 5.3.12 - JRL 2012-81

Moscow authorities granted permission Thursday for the opposition to hold a protest rally on Bolotnaya Ploshchad on May 6, but disagreements among the event's organizers means turnout will likely be low. File Photo of Mikhail Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan Signing Treaty
file photo of winter protest

The leaders of a string of mass anti-government protests during the winter election period have been planning a rally on the eve Presidentelect Vladimir Putin's inauguration since March, but have battled over the format of the event.

A moderate wing of the organizers is arguing for the movement to remain within the boundaries of the sanctioned protest, while a more radical wing is calling for protesters to ignore the authorities' rules and protest where they want.

The March of a Million event group on social network Vkontakte calls for protestors to gather across Moscow between 3 p.m. and 11 p.m. regardless of government sanctions.

This is in part in retaliation to the refusal of the authorities to sanction the opposition's original plan to hold a "March of a Million" past the Kremlin.

Leader of the radical Left Front movement Sergei Udaltsov spent much of Thursday in the mayor's office attempting to persuade the authorities to allow 5,000 people to march along Tverskaya Ulitsa and gather on Manezhnaya Ploschad, but to no avail.

Udaltsov and the "For Fair Elections" movement have called protesters to gather for an unsanctioned meeting on Manezhnaya at 7 p.m. on May 6, after the Bolotnaya rally. The square is likely to be blocked off due to the Victory Day celebrations planned for May 9.

"There is a very tense atmosphere among us so the outcome of the protest is unclear," an anonymous source in the protest's organization committee told Kommersant.

Gennady Gudkov, a lawmaker for the A Just Russia opposition party, told The Moscow News that many activists have lost interest in the protest movement due to the disorganization surrounding Sunday's event.

"I will go to the protest as a citizen, but not as an organizer," Gudkov said. "It has long been unclear when and where the rally will take place so many activists lost interest."

A call has gone out to activists in the regions to travel to Moscow to attend Sunday's event. A fund was set up on the Left Front website to collect money to subsidize transport and accommodation for incoming protesters.

Keywords: Russia, Government, Politics - Russian News - Russia

 

Moscow authorities granted permission Thursday for the opposition to hold a protest rally on Bolotnaya Ploshchad on May 6, but disagreements among the event's organizers means turnout will likely be low. File Photo of Mikhail Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan Signing Treaty
file photo of winter protest

The leaders of a string of mass anti-government protests during the winter election period have been planning a rally on the eve Presidentelect Vladimir Putin's inauguration since March, but have battled over the format of the event.

A moderate wing of the organizers is arguing for the movement to remain within the boundaries of the sanctioned protest, while a more radical wing is calling for protesters to ignore the authorities' rules and protest where they want.

The March of a Million event group on social network Vkontakte calls for protestors to gather across Moscow between 3 p.m. and 11 p.m. regardless of government sanctions.

This is in part in retaliation to the refusal of the authorities to sanction the opposition's original plan to hold a "March of a Million" past the Kremlin.

Leader of the radical Left Front movement Sergei Udaltsov spent much of Thursday in the mayor's office attempting to persuade the authorities to allow 5,000 people to march along Tverskaya Ulitsa and gather on Manezhnaya Ploschad, but to no avail.

Udaltsov and the "For Fair Elections" movement have called protesters to gather for an unsanctioned meeting on Manezhnaya at 7 p.m. on May 6, after the Bolotnaya rally. The square is likely to be blocked off due to the Victory Day celebrations planned for May 9.

"There is a very tense atmosphere among us so the outcome of the protest is unclear," an anonymous source in the protest's organization committee told Kommersant.

Gennady Gudkov, a lawmaker for the A Just Russia opposition party, told The Moscow News that many activists have lost interest in the protest movement due to the disorganization surrounding Sunday's event.

"I will go to the protest as a citizen, but not as an organizer," Gudkov said. "It has long been unclear when and where the rally will take place so many activists lost interest."

A call has gone out to activists in the regions to travel to Moscow to attend Sunday's event. A fund was set up on the Left Front website to collect money to subsidize transport and accommodation for incoming protesters.


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