Video: Opposition Rallies in Moscow to Demand Fair Elections

[pampango]

Thousands of people rallied on the streets of Moscow on Sunday to demand fair elections and challenge Vladimir Putin's 15-year rule, in the first significant opposition protest in the capital for months. Putin has now been Russia’s dominant leader since 2000, when ailing President Boris Yeltsin chose him as his successor. Earlier this month, the ruling United Russia party swept regional elections.

The gathering was restricted by authorities to a district of southern Moscow. Police said that 4,000 people had taken part, while the organizers of the rally said twice as many as that had attended, Interfax reported.

The turnout was a far cry from the 100,000 who marched in December 2011 in anger at widely reported violations of a parliamentary election. At Sunday’s rally there were posters related to the killing of Nemtsov and a general crackdown on political dissent.

Russia will hold a presidential vote in 2018. Putin, who is eligible to run for the six-year presidency again, has not yet said if he will be a candidate.

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/opposition-rallies-in-moscow-to-demand-fair-elections/531847.html