Mass demonstrations were held across Russia as the country marks May 1 holiday. Marches and rallies were organized by both the rulings authorities and opposition parties in more than 1,000 Russian cities and towns.
In Novosibirsk, the Communists took to the streets carrying red flags and portraits of Vladimir Lenin.
Photo: Columns of the opposition-minded demonstrators marched in the Siberian city along Ulitsa Kirova, a street named after Bolshevik leader Sergei Kirov.
Photo: Columns of the opposition-minded demonstrators marched in the Siberian city along Ulitsa Kirova, a street named after Bolshevik leader Sergei Kirov.
In Far East city of Vladivostok, the main May Day demonstration was led by the regional governor and the city mayor. The rally gathered around 35,000 people, exceeding the expected number by up to 15,000.
Photo: Demonstrators walk on the bridge across the Zolotoi Rod Bay (a horn-shaped bay in Vladivostok).
Photo: Demonstrators walk on the bridge across the Zolotoi Rod Bay (a horn-shaped bay in Vladivostok).
The May Day holiday, or Spring and Labor Day, is traditionally a non-working day for most Russians.
Photo: A demonstrator wears a kitsch fur hat with a Soviet-era star during a rally in the Siberian city of Chita.
Photo: A demonstrator wears a kitsch fur hat with a Soviet-era star during a rally in the Siberian city of Chita.
A multi-thousand rally has held in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg. The police estimated the number of demonstrators over 20,000.
Photo: Labor unionists are joyfully marching with white, blue and red balloons – the three colors of Russia’s national flag.
Photo: Labor unionists are joyfully marching with white, blue and red balloons – the three colors of Russia’s national flag.
In Soviet times, May 1 was celebrated in Russia as International Workers' Day and saw massive Communist Party rallies. In 1992, the name was changed to Spring and Labor Day, but it still remains a national holiday.
Photo: Trade unions rallying in the Russian enclave region of Kaliningrad.
Photo: Trade unions rallying in the Russian enclave region of Kaliningrad.
Saransk, capital of Russia’s republic of Mordovia known for its Stalin-era Gulag labor camps, also marked the national holiday.
Photo: A participant of a rally organized by the Communist Party carries a massive symbol of the Soviet Union - the hammer and sickle – on Teatralnaya Ploschad in Saransk.
Photo: A participant of a rally organized by the Communist Party carries a massive symbol of the Soviet Union - the hammer and sickle – on Teatralnaya Ploschad in Saransk.
More demonstrations were staged in other big cities, including Krasnoyarsk.
Photo: Protesters of the May Day rally are marching with slogans urging for better payments.
Photo: Protesters of the May Day rally are marching with slogans urging for better payments.
On the May Day holiday some 8,000 people marched in Veliky Novgorod.
Photo: A protester is holding a waving flag of the Communist Party.
Photo: A protester is holding a waving flag of the Communist Party.
The biggest demonstrations were held by a motley crew of political parties and movements in Moscow.
Photo: Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin is walking with a pro-Kremlin rally of workers.
Photo: Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin is walking with a pro-Kremlin rally of workers.
Photo: A march of labor unions in Moscow led by a group of Russian state officials, including the State Duma deputies.
Photo: A youth demonstrator is taking part in the Communist Party protest near the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow.
Photo: A Communist protester with a portrait of Soviet leader Josef Stalin.
Photo: Supporters of A Just Russia opposition party carrying flags at an action in downtown Moscow.
Photo: Labor unions joined a massive march in Moscow.
Photo: A demonstration of the LDPR pro-nationalist party marching along the capital’s Tverskaya Ulitsa.
