Russian opposition movements will hold on Saturday a protest rally in downtown Moscow, which has been authorized for the first time by the Mayor's Office.
The Day of Wrath rally will start in the afternoon at the monument to Karl Marx on the Teatralnaya Square. The rally will involve 300 opposition activists.
"The Teatralnaya Square will be our bridgehead from now on," Left Front opposition movement leader Sergei Udaltsov said. "We will hold rallies regularly, maybe once every three months, and always on the 12th."
Requests to authorize the Day of Wrath rallies were invariably turned down by the Moscow authorities in the past, while unauthorized protests were dispersed by police.
Udaltsov called the current authorization a "small, but important victory" of civil rights activists.
The protesters are planning to demand direct elections of regional governors, more power to trade unions, progressive taxation and taxation of luxury items, more effective migration policies, investigation into activities of former Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov and his "team."
Opposition activists intend to march toward the Kremlin following the meeting on the Teatralnaya Square. However, this part of the rally has not been authorized by the Moscow government.
MOSCOW, February 12 (RIA Novosti)
