RUSSIA: Opposition members, including journalists, writers and bloggers meet in central Moscow to discuss plans for new Voters League, as First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov says post-election protests are within legal bounds

Record ID: 327676

  • Title: RUSSIA: Opposition members, including journalists, writers and bloggers meet in central Moscow to discuss plans for new Voters League, as First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov says post-election protests are within legal bounds
  • Date: 19th January 2012
  • Summary: MOSCOW, RUSSIA (JANUARY 18, 2012) (REUTERS) RIA NOVOSTI PRESS CENTRE BUILDING RIA NOVOSTI SIGN ON BUILDING PEOPLE LEAVING PRESS CENTRE BUILDING THROUGH GLASS DOORS VARIOUS JOURNALISTS AND SPEAKERS AROUND TABLE AT VOTERS LEAGUE MEETING TABLE WITH MILK JUG WITH WHITE RIBBONS AND SPEAKERS' HANDS (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) RUSSIAN JOURNALIST LEONID PARFYONOV, SAYING: "It is clear to everyone that a new mood in the society has become ripe. People desire to vote consciously and to know what happens to their votes. They understand that the country needs to have the political competition and that elections are considered fair not only judging by the fact who and how casts their ballot, and even not only by how the votes are counted by the relevant electoral committee, but also judging by the existence of independent media and independent courts." JOURNALISTS (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) WRITER LUDMILA ULITSKAYA, SAYING: "(This organisation) has an aim which is very small, and very local. We need to have fair elections, while who will be after the elections is the second question. And then we will think about how we should behave so that those who have been chosen behave themselves in accordance to those commitments that they've taken on". PHOTOGRAPHERS SCREEN SHOWING MUSICIAN YURI SHEVCHUK AT CONFERENCE IN ST. PETERSBURG
  • Embargoed: 3rd February 2012 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Russian Federation
  • Country: Russia
  • Topics: Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA62KPMQIRZ8XNEFJR2YYB7CDZ0
  • Story Text: A newly created Voters League met on Wednesday (January 18, 2012) in order to talk about their plans to unite people who would like to participate in protests demanding free elections in Russia ahead of the March 4th vote. Members of this group include the country's famous television journalists and prominent bloggers, as well as best selling writers Boris Akunin and Ludmila Ulitskaya, as well as famous musician Yuri Shevchuk .
    "It is clear to everyone that a new mood in the society has become ripe. People desire to vote consciously and to know what happens to their votes. They understand that the country needs to have the political competition and that elections are considered fair not only judging by the fact who and how casts their ballot, and even not only by how the votes are counted by the relevant electoral committee, but also judging by the existence of independent media and independent courts," Russian journalist Leonid Parfyonov said.
    However, members of the new league said they would not accept politicians as members in the new organisation, and did not want to become a political organisation themselves, instead stressing that they wanted to maintain civic - and not political - action.
    "(This organisation) has an aim which is very small, and very local. We need to have fair elections, while who will be after the elections is the second question. And then we will think about how we should behave so that those who have been chosen behave themselves in accordance to those commitments that they've taken on," popular Russian writer Ludmila Ulitskaya said.
    The conference included a video link to a news conference in St. Petersburg where Shevchuk answered questions from both local and Moscow journalists.
    Meanwhile, Russia's First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov, the most influential liberal in Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's cabinet, said the elite should not be afraid of the thousands of urban voters who have protested against a disputed Dec. 4 parliamentary election.
    "So, as the elections have overlapped with people's understanding of themselves and their civic duty, I can say that this is very good, particularly about the elections, especially in terms of the framework of the law. We have not witnessed any illegal actions. People are openly expressing their protest and this is another new phenomenon in our social and political life," Shuvalov said at the opening of a conference on the economy in honour of the late architect of Russia's free-market reforms, Yegor Gaidar.
    Putin, who has ruled as president and then prime minister since 2000, has presented himself as the anchor of stability in a turbulent world though he has offered conflicting signals on whether he will engage with protesters. He is expected to be elected as president in the upcoming election.
    The protest leaders, a fragmented group of politicians, activists, journalists and bloggers, have called for a re-run of the parliamentary election which they believe had been rigged. Official results showed Putin's ruling party, United Russia, won 49.3 percent of the vote.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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