Communists will hold on Saturday protest rallies across the country against current social and economic policies carried out by the Russian government.
"Despite the cold weather we have decided to hold an all-Russia protest action in the form of meetings and rallies," First Deputy Chairman of the Russian Communist Party's Central Committee Ivan Melnikov said.
Melnikov said that the government introduced a number of unpopular measures in 2010, including higher communal services bills, increased prices for food and medicines, and higher public transport fares.
"These new norms are a serious blow to the social rights of the Russian citizens...and we will not keep silent about that," he said.
Some 5,000 Communists and members of about 30 public organizations will gather downtown Moscow alone to demand drastic changes in the current government policies.
Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said in December last year that Russia would experience a difficult next three years as it sought to resolve all the problems accumulated during and after the global economic downturn.
He said the Russian economy would demonstrate slower growth during this period as compared with the pre-crisis level.
According to a survey conducted in November last year by the Levada Center, a well-known Russian pollster, 36% of Russians believe that the government is unable to improve the social and economic situation in the country in the near future.
Another 33% of respondents are uncertain of the efficiency of the Russian leadership, the pollster said.
MOSCOW, January 23 (RIA Novosti)
