The Moscow mayor's office has agreed to a march on 4 February from the Oktyabrskaya metro station, along Ulitsa Yakimanka, with a rally at Bolotnaya Ploshchad. Speakers at the rally
The rally's organizing committee has decided that three candidates in the Russian presidential election, three representatives of the public and one representative from each political column in the march will speak at the rally. The rally will be led by co-chairman of the People's Freedom Party (Parnas) and head of the In Defence of Khimki Forest movement Yevgeniya Chirikova, state news agency RIA Novosti reported on 31 January.
It is expected that presidential candidates A Just Russia leader Sergey Mironov and billionaire businessman Mikhail Prokhorov will address the rally, and also Yabloko founder Grigoriy Yavlinskiy, who was refused registration as a candidate by the Central Electoral Commission. One other presidential candidate - Communist Party leader Gennadiy Zyuganov - has also been invited to speak at the rally, but has not yet accepted the invitation.
The time allocated for each of the speakers will be clearly regulated, so as not to draw out the rally in the cold weather. The committee decided that, in this way, the rally will last no longer than 30-40 minutes.
For her part, chairperson of the Public Council under the Interior Ministry's main directorate for Moscow Olga Kostina told Interfax that public observers will monitor the observance of citizens' rights and the work of the police at the rally on 4 February.
Post-rally train journey
After the opposition march in Moscow on 4 February, its organizers and participants are planning to board a Moscow-Irkutsk train to meet their supporters, Interfax reported on the same day.
"We are collecting money for the rally and march and the main thing - for the train (journey). After the rally, it is setting of on an incendiary journey across the country from Moscow to Irkutsk. Lots of interested people have signed up - at each stop we will talk to local residents and there will by many respected, talented and well-known people," member of the organizing committee and journalist Olga Romanova wrote on her Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/#!/Ooo.Romanova).
She wrote that "the train costs the same as the rally - approximately", adding that as of today, funds raised for the rally amount to R1.882m (around 62,000 dollars).
Competing events
The For Fair Elections rally's organizers believe that other events which are also planned for 4 February will purposefully hinder the holding of their march and rally.
"There is one event and everything else is a sham, with the aim of confusing people," another member of the organizing committee Garri Kasparov told Interfax.
As well as the For Fair Elections event, which is authorized for up to 50,000 people, a rally against opposition forces for up to 15,000 participants will take place on Poklonnaya Gora (a hill in western Moscow).
Another rally will take place on Moscow's Prospekt Sakharova, organized by a group of people led by businessman and politician Konstantin Borovoy, for up to 30,000 people. According to Borovoy, the organizers are appealing to the democratic part of the opposition. The Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) will also hold a 1,500-strong rally on Moscow's Pushkinskaya Ploshchad (square).
St Petersburg rally
Representatives of opposition movements in St Petersburg have officially agreed to the proposal by the city's authorities to hold a march on 4 February along a different route than the one originally planned, Interfax reported on the same day.
The city administration proposed that opposition activists begin to assemble for the march outside the Oktyabrskiy concert hall from 1330-1415 (0930-1015 gmt) on 4 February. After the march, a rally will be held on Konyushennaya Ploshchad (square) from 1515-1700 (1115-1300 gmt).
According to RIA Novosti, the event is authorized for 30,000 people.
Keywords: Russia, Government, Politics - Russia News - Russia
The Moscow mayor's office has agreed to a march on 4 February from the Oktyabrskaya metro station, along Ulitsa Yakimanka, with a rally at Bolotnaya Ploshchad.
Speakers at the rally
The rally's organizing committee has decided that three candidates in the Russian presidential election, three representatives of the public and one representative from each political column in the march will speak at the rally. The rally will be led by co-chairman of the People's Freedom Party (Parnas) and head of the In Defence of Khimki Forest movement Yevgeniya Chirikova, state news agency RIA Novosti reported on 31 January.
It is expected that presidential candidates A Just Russia leader Sergey Mironov and billionaire businessman Mikhail Prokhorov will address the rally, and also Yabloko founder Grigoriy Yavlinskiy, who was refused registration as a candidate by the Central Electoral Commission. One other presidential candidate - Communist Party leader Gennadiy Zyuganov - has also been invited to speak at the rally, but has not yet accepted the invitation.
The time allocated for each of the speakers will be clearly regulated, so as not to draw out the rally in the cold weather. The committee decided that, in this way, the rally will last no longer than 30-40 minutes.
For her part, chairperson of the Public Council under the Interior Ministry's main directorate for Moscow Olga Kostina told Interfax that public observers will monitor the observance of citizens' rights and the work of the police at the rally on 4 February.
Post-rally train journey
After the opposition march in Moscow on 4 February, its organizers and participants are planning to board a Moscow-Irkutsk train to meet their supporters, Interfax reported on the same day.
"We are collecting money for the rally and march and the main thing - for the train (journey). After the rally, it is setting of on an incendiary journey across the country from Moscow to Irkutsk. Lots of interested people have signed up - at each stop we will talk to local residents and there will by many respected, talented and well-known people," member of the organizing committee and journalist Olga Romanova wrote on her Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/#!/Ooo.Romanova).
She wrote that "the train costs the same as the rally - approximately", adding that as of today, funds raised for the rally amount to R1.882m (around 62,000 dollars).
Competing events
The For Fair Elections rally's organizers believe that other events which are also planned for 4 February will purposefully hinder the holding of their march and rally.
"There is one event and everything else is a sham, with the aim of confusing people," another member of the organizing committee Garri Kasparov told Interfax.
As well as the For Fair Elections event, which is authorized for up to 50,000 people, a rally against opposition forces for up to 15,000 participants will take place on Poklonnaya Gora (a hill in western Moscow).
Another rally will take place on Moscow's Prospekt Sakharova, organized by a group of people led by businessman and politician Konstantin Borovoy, for up to 30,000 people. According to Borovoy, the organizers are appealing to the democratic part of the opposition. The Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) will also hold a 1,500-strong rally on Moscow's Pushkinskaya Ploshchad (square).
St Petersburg rally
Representatives of opposition movements in St Petersburg have officially agreed to the proposal by the city's authorities to hold a march on 4 February along a different route than the one originally planned, Interfax reported on the same day.
The city administration proposed that opposition activists begin to assemble for the march outside the Oktyabrskiy concert hall from 1330-1415 (0930-1015 gmt) on 4 February. After the march, a rally will be held on Konyushennaya Ploshchad (square) from 1515-1700 (1115-1300 gmt).
According to RIA Novosti, the event is authorized for 30,000 people.