Massive protests in Russia after the election 1
Protests, authorized and unauthorized, took place from Moscow and St Petersburg to Siberia in the Far East.
Protesters in Moscow.
Protesters wore a symbol of white ribbons or flowers on their dark winter coats.
However, protest organizers said the number of participants ranged from 80 to 100 thousand.
The Russian Duma election took place on December 4 with the biggest victory belonging to the United Russia party of President Medvedev and Prime Minister Putin.
Protest photo
In Moscow, a large group of protesters gathered in Bolotnaya Square, across the river across the river from the Kremlin, according to AP.
`Russia has changed, the future has changed,` he said.
However, Mr. Konstantin Kosachyov, a United Russia party MP, speaking on behalf of the Kremlin, rejected the negotiation demands put forth by protest organizations.
In New York yesterday, about 200 people also protested outside the Russian consulate demanding re-election.
`The idea is spreading. It’s not the idea of overthrowing the government. It’s the idea of asking for more transparency from the government,` AFP quoted Khodorkovsky as saying.
Another protester named Ellen Fridliand, who is active in Russian opposition organizations, said that Russians were looking at the model of the Arab Spring in which long-ruling governments had to give up power.
Russian state television yesterday, in a relatively rare move, gave balanced coverage of the protests.
Mai Trang
