MOSCOW, March 8, 2007 -- An angry gathering of political protesters marched down historic Nevskiy Prospect in St. Peterburg last Saturday despite a massive show of force by truncheon-wielding police and the beating and arrest of scores of participants.
It is the first massive display of dissatisfaction with Czar Putin’s regime, and he will try to make sure it’s the last.
From 3,000 (per Associated Press) to 6,000 (per protest organizers) showed up for the “March of Those Who Disagree,” organized by former chess champ Gary Kasparov and former Putin prime minister Mikhail Kasyanov, who has already announced he will oppose Putin in the presidential election a year from now.
Bearing banners demanding “Russia without Putin,” and “Take Elections Back” and proclaiming “We are for Justice,” the protesters chanted “shame!” as they marched down the city’s celebrated main drag to protest “what they said was the government’s retreat from democracy under President Vladimir Putin,” the Moscow Times reported.
The MT also reported that “riot police detained and clubbed dozens of protesters in an attempt to stop the march and disperse the activists, but the demonstrators broke through the cordons, marched toward the center, and rallied for about 40 minutes before police moved in again, detaining scores….”
City authorities had denied permission for a demonstration in the city center, instead giving an okay for a small rally at a distant location, but the thousands who showed up defied the ban and began their unauthorized march on the city center.
This is the kind of grass roots protest the Kremlin is scared to death of. The tragedy is that most Russians don’t – and won’t – know it took place. In my Information Plus class of three very well informed young Russian cartographers, only one of them knew anything at all about it. He had heard about it on Radio Eho Moskhvy, the still-independent Moscow radio station; and he had read about it on the internet. There had been only one mention of it on TV, he said. One channel had reported on the riots in Copenhagen, adding that political rest in St. Peterburg had also been quelled.
No Russian channel showed the thousands of protesters either marching or being beaten by the police, so the political fallout will be none to minimal.
“The authorities are destroying…our constitutional structure, rights, and freedoms,” Kasyanov told the rally.
Kasyanov will himself almost certainly be neutralized before the elections. He has already been accused of illegally acquiring an expensive dacha while prime minister, and more recently has been called in for questioning in connection with an embezzlement case involving a member of Russia’s Federation Council, or Senate.
So far he’s only being questioned, but it’s early yet. In the meantime, the grapevine is keeping alive the nickname he acquired as prime minister: “Two-percent Mike” because of his alleged take for performing favors for business interests.
To present the appearance of choice in next year’s election, a Kremlin-controlled “liberal” party called “A Just Russia” has been formed to jump through the carefully rigged election hoops. “See?” Putin will tell the West, “we had an open, free, and fair election. We had choice.”
At least the St. Peterburg protest shows that not everyone has their head in the sand and that some actually think they can make a difference.
Can they? Time will tell.
In the meantime, you can be sure that strict orders have already emanated from the Kremlin not to let such a thing happen again.
Another Russian journalist is dead. Ivan Sofronov, a former military officer who wrote on military affairs for the newspaper Kommersant and reportedly has more than once angered Kremlin authorities with his reporting, fell – or more likely, was pushed -- from the fifth floor of his apartment building.
Police at first attributed the death to suicide, but it was noted that his body plummeted to his death upside down, which wouldn’t have happened if he had voluntarily jumped.
The Moscow Times reported that he was on the verge of publishing a story on a sensitive arms deal with Syria and Iran “despite warnings he would be prosecuted for disclosing classified information…”
It’s Women’s Day and four hours from now Igor – he’s asked me to start calling him Igor again – and I will embark on our odyssey to Moldova. We’ve stocked up on the necessary fruit, yogurt and alcohol for the trip.
I asked him Tuesday night if we could play. “Tomorrow night,” he had replied.
“But you said we’ll celebrate tomorrow night and we’ll probably be drunk.”
“Huh-uh,” he replied.
So last night we celebrated. He did get drunk – quite drunk – but when he came to bed I still immediately attacked him and he was quite willing to be attacked. He took his shorts off himself while I toyed with his flaccid cock. It didn’t take long to get hard. In the meantime, he was for the first time kissing me passionately! Yes, he was drunk, but if there’s anything to the in vino veritas maxim, it was a reflection of his true feelings. I have no illusions about him being passionate about my septuagenarian face or body, but I do think he truly adores me as a person, as “the only grandfather I have” and “my best friend.”
As I had anticipated, he was too drunk to come, but that didn’t really make any difference. I got a good dose of passion out of it.
Anyway, it’s a nice feeling, but may further complicate Zhorik’s upcoming visit. I’ve still got to figure out how I’m going to pull off this juggling act.
Okay, this is the official notice to the Court of the Red Queen that you’ll hear from me again in about ten days. Bon voyage mes adorees (as you can see, I never formally studied French, but you get the idea).
See also related pages:
Chapt. #238 - Moldova’s bureaucrats ruder than America’s
This day years ago:
2005-3-8: Chapt. #110 - Women’s Day; Sergei finds a fantasy from the past
