Protests no more: Opposition activist’s rally request rejected

Russia’s opposition Left Front leader Sergey Udaltsov has felt the pinch of a tough new law on protests as his request to stage a public rally was denied.

­Udaltsov had been planning to use the demo to call for a referendum on Russia's accession to the WTO. But under new legislation, anyone who has two or more administrative offences on their record is forbidden from organizing rallies. Udaltsov has committed at least three since March.

Most other prominent opposition figures face the same problem.

A bill increasing the liability of protest organisers and radically hiking fines for violations was passed earlier this month.
It followed a violent riot in May, when 39 police were injured and over 600 protesters arrested.