Post by Daniel on Apr 29, 2017 8:38:04 GMT -5
Russian authorities deploy riot police in Moscow ahead of opposition protest
By Andrew Osborn | MOSCOW
Sat Apr 29, 2017
Hundreds of riot police deployed in central Moscow on Saturday ahead of an opposition protest calling for President Vladimir Putin not to run for what would be his fourth presidential term next year.
Putin, who has dominated Russia's political landscape for the last 17 years, has not said whether he will run in March 2018, but official pollsters give him high popularity ratings and he is widely expected to do so.
The pro-democracy Open Russia movement, founded by Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky, called on people to converge on the presidential administration in Moscow on Saturday afternoon to hand over written appeals for Putin to leave political life.
It was seeking to organize similar protest events in other cities too, including St Petersburg.
Under the slogan "We're sick of him", Open Russia is seeking to build on what the liberal opposition regarded as the success of a wave of anti-government protests last month whose geographical reach and turnout were the largest since 2012.
more
www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-opposition-protests-idUSKBN17V0A8
By Andrew Osborn | MOSCOW
Sat Apr 29, 2017
Hundreds of riot police deployed in central Moscow on Saturday ahead of an opposition protest calling for President Vladimir Putin not to run for what would be his fourth presidential term next year.
Putin, who has dominated Russia's political landscape for the last 17 years, has not said whether he will run in March 2018, but official pollsters give him high popularity ratings and he is widely expected to do so.
The pro-democracy Open Russia movement, founded by Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky, called on people to converge on the presidential administration in Moscow on Saturday afternoon to hand over written appeals for Putin to leave political life.
It was seeking to organize similar protest events in other cities too, including St Petersburg.
Under the slogan "We're sick of him", Open Russia is seeking to build on what the liberal opposition regarded as the success of a wave of anti-government protests last month whose geographical reach and turnout were the largest since 2012.
more
www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-opposition-protests-idUSKBN17V0A8
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