Some 300 people were detained on Tuesday evening in central Moscow during a second evening of protests over alleged mass electoral fraud in favor of Prime... 06.12.2011, Sputnik International
Some 300 people were detained on Tuesday evening in central Moscow during a second evening of protests over alleged mass electoral fraud in favor of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's United Russia party.
Some 300 people were detained on Tuesday evening in central Moscow during a second evening of protests over alleged mass electoral fraud in favor of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's United Russia party.
Some 300 people were detained on Tuesday evening in central Moscow during a second evening of protests over alleged mass electoral fraud in favor of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's United Russia party.
The illegal demonstration was attended by around 1,000 people and took place at the city's Triumfalnaya Square, a short distance from the Kremlin. The rally came in the aftermath of a much larger protest on Monday, which drew up to 6,000.
The protest was at times a surreal affair, as early evening pedestrians and theatergoers mingled with groups of angry demonstrators from both sides, shouting competing slogans at each other.
"Russia without Putin!" chanted the opposition crowd, retreating from time to time as Omon officers charged in to make arrests, while United Russia’s supporters shouted: “Yes to the elections! Yes to Putin!”
Former deputy prime minister and opposition leader Boris Nemtsov was among those detained by police as tempers flared. Sergei Mitrokhin, a senior member of the opposition Yabloko party, was also arrested. Both men were later released.
Although numbers fell far short of Monday's protest, which had been given the green light by the authorities, the crowd was still a significant increase on usual opposition protests in Moscow.
The dueling demonstrations seemed to catch some local residents off guard.
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