RFE/RL
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Tens of thousands of Muscovites marched through the Russian capital today in the first mass protest since Vladimir Putin returned to the Kremlin for his third term as president.
Authorities appeared intent on undermining the protest, as key opposition figures were summoned for questioning following coordinated raids on their homes on the eve of the rally. Meanwhile, citizens were offered an unprecedented range of events to enjoy on Tuesday, a bank holiday in Russia, which critics say were designed to draw people away from the protest.
SEE: Radio Svoboda’s livestream coverage and photos.
For additional news on Russia follow Radio Svoboda online (also in Russian) and The Power Vertical on Twitter. For breaking news in all RFE/RL broadcast regions, follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. -
Moscow, March 10 — Several thousand demonstrators rallied in central Moscow to denounce the March 4 presidential election that was won by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and call for a new election.
Read more in English here, and follow RFE/RL’s Russian Service, Radio Svoboda on Twitter for the latest events in Russia at @SvobodaRadio.
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Photo of riot police from our @SvobodaRadio correspondent— taken earlier this evening in Moscow.
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![Celebs Create League Of Voters To Battle Russian Vote Fraud
MOSCOW — A group of leading celebrities tied to the opposition has created a League of Voters to battle fraud in Russia’s March presidential election.
The group, founded by 16 Russians cultural luminaries including the popular author Boris Akunin, hopes to beef up monitoring to prevent a repeat of the disputed parliamentary elections in December…[READ MORE]](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ly1h1bGpDu1qkgi6go1_500.jpg)
Celebs Create League Of Voters To Battle Russian Vote Fraud
MOSCOW — A group of leading celebrities tied to the opposition has created a League of Voters to battle fraud in Russia’s March presidential election.
The group, founded by 16 Russians cultural luminaries including the popular author Boris Akunin, hopes to beef up monitoring to prevent a repeat of the disputed parliamentary elections in December…[READ MORE]
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![Celebs Create League Of Voters To Battle Russian Vote Fraud
MOSCOW — A group of leading celebrities tied to the opposition has created a League of Voters to battle fraud in Russia’s March presidential election.
The group, founded by 16 Russians cultural luminaries including the popular author Boris Akunin, hopes to beef up monitoring to prevent a repeat of the disputed parliamentary elections in December…[READ MORE]](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ly01c3I7kx1qkgi6go1_500.jpg)
Celebs Create League Of Voters To Battle Russian Vote Fraud
MOSCOW — A group of leading celebrities tied to the opposition has created a League of Voters to battle fraud in Russia’s March presidential election.
The group, founded by 16 Russians cultural luminaries including the popular author Boris Akunin, hopes to beef up monitoring to prevent a repeat of the disputed parliamentary elections in December…[READ MORE]
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Putin Affirms Duma Vote In Call-In Show
“That people want to express their opinion about what is happening in the country and the economic, social, and political sphere is an entirely normal thing, as long as they adhere to the letter of the law, of course,” Putin said. “I am counting on it staying that way. I saw the clips on television of the mainly young, active people formulating their opinion clearly. It pleases me. If this is the result of the Putin regime, then that’s good!” [READ MORE]
Putin’s appearance — an annual spectacle that last year went on for more than four hours — against a backdrop of preparations for the presidential election in March, when he hopes to return after a four-year absence mandated by the Russian Constitution.
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Antigovernment Demonstrations In Moscow - see the rest of the photos here.
For more photos of last week’s protests in Russia, check out our FB Friday Photos From…gallery.
For coverage of the events in Russia follow RFE/RL’s Russian service, Radio Svoboda.
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See the rest of the photos on our FB page as part of our Friday Photos From…series.
Following the protests in Moscow against the disputed December 4th parliamentary elections, RFE/RL’s photographer Yuri Timofeyev documented the mass deomonstrations by opposition activists and politicians, as well as the pro-government demonstrations by pro-Kremlin youth movements.
The OSCE has stated that the election process showed “limited political competition and a lack of fairness” and the protests have shown a vulnerability in Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party stronghold.
Nevertheless, Russian authorities have sanctioned a rally of up to 30,000 people to take place on December 10th in Moscow.
For more photos, breaking news and analysis on Russia and this weekend’s planned protests, follow Radio Svoboda’s reports.
For past coverage, see the following:
The Power Vertical is RFE/RL’s Russia affairs blog written by Brian Whitmore.“The Decembrist Uprising”
“Nothing Has Changed And Everything Has Changed”
The Power Vertical podcast - listen to a discussion about Russia’s New Politics with Kirill Kobrin, of RFE/RL’s Russian Service, Radio Svoboda. -
As Russia gears up for mass nationwide demonstrations on Saturday, RFE/RL correspondents will provide wall-to-wall coverage with breaking news, live streaming video, and expert analysis. Be sure to follow Radio Svoboda online (also in Russian), The Power Vertical blog (also on Twitter), and RFERL.org for news as it happens.
Current coverage:
# Preparations are taking place by various opposition groups for Saturday’s protest actions — both sanctioned and non-sanctioned. RFE/RL has interviews with opposition activists Yevgenia Chirikova, Arkady Murashev and Sergey Udaltsov (listen to Radio Svoboda’s “Facets of Time”.)
# The presence of nationalist voices is unsettling some of Russia’s ethnic minorities who are otherwise sympathetic to the movement’s goals. It’s a potential division that unnerves liberals and that the Kremlin is more than eager to exploit. Tom Balmforth reports from Moscow.
# Balmforth also profiles the tech-savvy organizers of the protests, which have been dubbed a “Facebook revolution” by one privately owned media outlet.
# Brian Whitmore examines “The Decembrist Uprising” and how out of touch Vladimir Putin and the ruling elite have become with the society they helped create.
Saturday’s coverage:
# Live broadcasting and Twittering will start at 9 am (Prague time)/ 3 am (EST). RFE/RL reporters will be distributed throughout the country and will include dispatches from Moscow, St. Petersburg, Barnaul, Ulyanovsk, Tomsk, Izhevsk, Krasnodar, Arkhangelsk, Chelyabinsk, Ekaterinburg, and Tyumen.
# Live video streaming of Moscow events will start at 11 am (Prague time)/5 am (EST) on Radio Svoboda website.
For breaking news in all RFE/RL broadcast regions, also follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
