Civil activists and the representatives of various opposition parties are holding a rally in central Moscow on Sunday to mark five years since the Bolotnaya Square protest. The demonstration has been sanctioned by the city.
06 May 2017
Police and Russia’s National Guard provided security at the rally, noting that “no violations of public order” had taken place.
The opposition rally has concluded as scheduled without any incidents reported, according to correspondents from Russia’s news agencies and activists in attendance.
About 1000 demonstrators have joined the rally, according to Interfax, citing law enforcement.
“About 1000 people are taking part in a sanctioned opposition rally in Moscow, which is being held on Prospekt Akademika Sakharova,” a Moscow Police spokesperson told the news agency.
Prospekt Akademika Sakharova in central Moscow will be temporarily blocked to motorists due to the Saturday’s rally, Moscow’s transportation authorities told RIA Novosti.
Today’s rally has been sanctioned by the city of Moscow, Vladimir Chernikov, a senior city security official, told Interfax, explaining that the demonstrators are to march along Prospekt Akademika Sakharova.
The organizers of the rally had initially asked permission to hold the rally on Bolotnaya square, the same site where the 2012 riots took place, but city rejected the request, citing a conflict with preparations for the Victory Day parade.
The rally marks the fifth anniversary of the ‘March of the Millions’, which was held on May 6, 2012. At the time, a massive rally on Moscow’s Bolotnaya Square was called to protest the result of a parliamentary election and voice discontent with the policies of the government. The protest escalated into violence after several demonstrators threw objects at police.