RUSSIA: Thousands march through central St. Petersburg in opposition protest, calling for fair elections and a new president

Record ID: 701898

  • Title: RUSSIA: Thousands march through central St. Petersburg in opposition protest, calling for fair elections and a new president
  • Date: 5th February 2012
  • Summary: ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA (FEBRUARY 4, 2012) (REUTERS) PROTESTERS MARCHING OVER BRIDGE VARIOUS PROTESTERS MARCHING ALONGSIDE CANAL PROTESTERS AT CANAL SECURITY OFFICERS MARCHING IN FRONT OF PROTESTERS VARIOUS PROTESTERS MARCHING ON STREET TOGETHER WITH SECURITY OFFICERS PROTESTERS CARRYING OPPOSITION PARTY 'YABLOKO' SIGN VARIOUS MARCH IN PROGRESS RED BALLOON READING 'KPRF (COMMUNIST PARTY OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION) FOR FAIR ELECTIONS' PROTESTERS AT RALLY HELICOPTER FLYING OVERHEAD WOMAN LEADING CHANT 'TOGETHER WE WILL WIN' PROTESTERS LISTENING TO SPEAKER YABLOKO OPPOSITION PARTY ST. PETERSBURG DEPUTY MAXIM REZNIK ADDRESSING CROWD PROTESTERS LISTENING (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) YABLOKO OPPOSITION PARTY ST. PETERSBURG DEPUTY MAXIM REZNIK, SAYING: "Today we are only talking about how we are together and how quickly we will achieve a peaceful, constitutional removal of Putin's groups from power." VARIOUS PEOPLE LISTENING SIGN READING IN RUSSIAN 'PUTIN, A THIRD TERM IS A FRAUD.' PROTESTERS SHOUTING 'PUTIN, CRAWL AWAY' PROTESTERS SHOUTING 'WE ARE THE PEOPLE, WE ARE UNITED, WE ARE INVINCIBLE, GLORY TO RUSSIA'
  • Embargoed: 20th February 2012 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Russian Federation
  • Country: Russia
  • Topics: Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA3XS7NCLR5HBBO79MRW1IZ714O
  • Story Text: Thousands of anti-Putin protesters took to the streets in St. Petersburg on Saturday (February 4), calling for fair elections and a new president.
    The Russian Interior Ministry estimated the marchers at around 3,000 people, while organisers put the numbers at 30,000.
    The St. Petersburg protest coincided with other rallies around the country with tens of thousands of Russians demanding fair elections in a march against Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's 12-year rule.
    The protests come exactly one month before the March 4 presidential election which Putin is expected to win.
    Putin was president from 2000 until 2008, when he ushered Dmitry Medevedev into the Kremlin because of a constitutional ban on three successive terms as head of state. Putin became prime minister but remained the dominant leader.
    Temperatures far below freezing tested the power and perseverance of a street protest movement fuelled by suspicions of fraud in the Dec. 4 parliamentary election and dismay among some Russians over Putin's plan to rule at least six more years.
    In St. Petersburg, demonstrators carried anti-Putin signs and banners calling for fair elections and shouted slogans such as 'Together we will win!' and 'Putin crawl away!'
    "Today we are only talking about how we are together and how quickly we will achieve a peaceful, constitutional removal of Putin's groups from power," opposition party Yabloko deputy in St. Petersburg's parliament Maxim Reznik told Reuters.
    The main opposition protests were suspended over the long New Year holiday, when Russia comes to a halt. Opposition activists had been concerned that the protests might lose momentum after Putin, 59, ignored all of their main demands.
    The protesters want a rerun of the parliamentary election, the release of prisoners jailed for political reasons, reform of the political system, dismissal of the central election commission chief and registration of more political parties.
    Crowds of a few hundred turned out to protest against Putin in other cities across Russia, and tens of thousands in Moscow, although the number protesting is still only a small part of the more than 140 million population.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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