Up to 40 arrests after hundreds gathered in Moscow for unauthorized rally (PHOTOS)

Published time: December 15, 2012 14:19
Edited time: December 15, 2012 18:56
People attend an opposition protest marking one year since the start of protests against Vladimir Putin, in Moscow, on December 15, 2012.(AFP Photo / Natalia Kolesnikova)
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Several hundred people rallied in central Moscow to mark the one-year anniversary of massive anti-government protests despite receiving a no-go for the event from city authorities. Arrests were made after some of the protesters refused to disperse.

The opposition says people came to honor political prisoners and to lay flowers on a monument which is located on Lubyanskaya Square.

Up to 40 people were detained, including opposition leaders Sergey Udaltsov and Aleksey Navalny, police said in the wake of the event. Police added only those were arrested who did not follow the law enforcers' orders. 

Police counted around 700 people rallying in Lubyanskaya Square.

Both Udaltsov and Navalny claim that their detention was unlawful, saying people just came to the square for a stroll. Udaltsov, the head of the Leftist Front movement, was detained by police while holding some kind of banner in contravention of legislation banning unsanctioned rallies in Moscow. Later they were released without being charged.

Most of the arrests were made once the rally had thinned out and police ordered the remaining protesters to disperse. In response, several demonstrators attempted to form a human chain to hold their ground. Coming under a shower of insults, police advanced on those remaining on the square.

The unsanctioned rally was preceded by several rounds of negotiations between the opposition and authorities, but the sides could not reach an agreement on a march route.

Last December tens of thousands took to the streets of Moscow to protest against the results of parliamentary elections which they claimed were fraudulent.  The rally on Bolotnaya Square marked the beginning of  mass protests that continued throughout winter and spring, though the protest movement lost steam as time went on.

Participant in the freedom march on Lubyanskaya Square in Moscow holding banners prompting for real democracy, "intelligent, responsible and honest authorities" and curbing corruption.(RIA Novosti / Vladimir Astapkovich)
Participant in the freedom march on Lubyanskaya Square in Moscow holding banners prompting for real democracy, "intelligent, responsible and honest authorities" and curbing corruption.(RIA Novosti / Vladimir Astapkovich)

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Participant in the freedom march on Lubyanskaya Square in Moscow wearing a mask stating "No to state terror" (RIA Novosti / Vladimir Astapkovich)
Participant in the freedom march on Lubyanskaya Square in Moscow wearing a mask stating "No to state terror" (RIA Novosti / Vladimir Astapkovich)

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Blogger Aleksey Navalny (center) at the unauthorized freedom march on Lubyanskaya Square in Moscow.(RIA Novosti / Iliya Pitalev)
Blogger Aleksey Navalny (center) at the unauthorized freedom march on Lubyanskaya Square in Moscow.(RIA Novosti / Iliya Pitalev)

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A law-enforcement officer and participants in the unauthorized freedom march on Lubyanskaya Square in Moscow.(RIA Novosti / Iliya Pitalev)
A law-enforcement officer and participants in the unauthorized freedom march on Lubyanskaya Square in Moscow.(RIA Novosti / Iliya Pitalev)

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Law-enforcement officers detaining participants in the unauthorized freedom march on Lubyanskaya Square in Moscow.(RIA Novosti / Iliya Pitalev)
Law-enforcement officers detaining participants in the unauthorized freedom march on Lubyanskaya Square in Moscow.(RIA Novosti / Iliya Pitalev)

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Sergey Udaltsov, the head of the Leftist Front movement, greeting the press after being detained and ushered to the police van (RIA Novosti / Iliya Pitalev)
Sergey Udaltsov, the head of the Leftist Front movement, greeting the press after being detained and ushered to the police van (RIA Novosti / Iliya Pitalev)

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RIA Novosti / Vitaliy Belousov
RIA Novosti / Vitaliy Belousov

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Photo from <a href="http://www.ridus.ru/news/58923/">ridus.ru</a> Anton Belitsky
Photo from ridus.ru Anton Belitsky

Comments (27)

Count Cash 16.12.2012 09:53

English Exile, yes the real heroes yesterday, were the truly massive and overwhelming number of Moscow residents that said no to the Bolotnaya Bstards, these are the Moscow residents that now compose not only the ones who have always objected to the ‘opposition’ of liars, deceivers and paid agents in its entirety but also increasingly other activists in good faith, who were mislead as Hamsters and Penguins before by the Bolotnaya Bstards, and who finally woke up to the way they were being exploited by the Bolotnaya extremist violent fringe for foreign gain. Moscow its residents, its police can be very proud this day of their intellect, thoughtfulness and reasoning, the regions salute you. BTW love your phrase “Sobchak, bourgeois slapper” – could I suggest she was tweeting “more envelopes needed urgently, it’s a disaster in terms of turnout, what happened to all the other envelopes I prepared”. Meanwhile there seemed to be reports of increased activities in bars and restaurants by those carrying envelopes. Seems maybe there is a free lunch after all! A slapper up meal! It seems many have taken Sobcheque for a ride, both on the streets and in the bedroom!

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English Exile (unregistered) 16.12.2012 09:10

Nemtsov reckons he wasn't arrested because he went to the protest meeting by trolleybus and the cops mustn't have noticed him arriving at the trollybus stop next to the Polytechnical Museum; he also must have been hard to notice amongst the droves of journalists who surrounded and outnumbered the "leaders of the opposition".
So he rode there on a trollybus: whither the "March of a Million"? Is there soon going to be a "Trolleybus Ride of a Million"?
I should imagine that seeing the party was already over before it had started, Nemtsov jumped onto the next trolleybus to arrive.
Sobchak, bourgeois slapper that she is, was arrested whilst twittering. I wonder what she was busily tapping into he iPhone or whatever: "To the barricades, comrades!"
The "comrades" with iPhones, that is.
And 13 million Muscovites ignore these poseurs who are described in theWest as "leaders".


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slavix blocked by saboteur RT moderator (unregistered) 16.12.2012 08:53

The one crucial part in the description of this event that has been missing in most coverage including RT is that Moscow authorities offered several alternative venues for this rally only to be refused by the organizers! Making sure the rally is not authorized was a must for the organizers! They needed an excuse why only a few hundred to a few thousand by some accounts showed up. They need to sell the story to the media of being 'oppressed' and not just ignored by population. They need a scandal. That is what they get paid to create.

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