The regional Interior Ministry spokesman said the rally outside the city administration building had been organized by country's opposition, including the Communist Party and the nationalist Rodina (Motherland) Party.
A local official said the administration would allocate about 350 million rubles ($13 million) in the regional 2006 budget to compensate low-income residents for the new communal tariffs. Charges have risen in most regions since the adoption of the new the new Housing Code, which came into force March 4.
The Communists say new housing and communal tariffs should not exceed 10% of the family budget, and that the housing and communal sector should be financed from the country's huge reserves in the Stabilization Fund, which was established to gather windfall oil revenues.
A senior party official said Monday that the Communist Party was planning a nationwide protest against housing and communal-services reform on April 8.
