Clutching white balloons and banners calling for “Free Elections”, a sea of Russian protestors against Vladimir Putin on Saturday thronged a Moscow avenue named after dissident Andrei Sakharov.
The rally to oppose Putin’s tight grip on Russia’s political system passed amid a festive atmosphere, with guest appearances by a famous socialite, a former chess champion and even Father Christmas.
But there was no doubting the seriousness of the huge crowd, who called for the annulment of parliamentary elections held this month and proclaimed on banners that “We awoke and this is only the beginning”.
The mass of people extended all the way down Moscow’s Sakharov Avenue -- named after the Soviet nuclear physicist turned dissident -- and for hours they peacefully listened to an unexpectedly diverse range of speakers.
Addressing them from a giant stage were former finance minister Alexei Kudrin, glamorous socialite Xenia Sobchak, former chess champion Garry Kasparov, anti-Kremlin blogger Alexei Navalny and novelist Boris Akunin.
At the end, a speaker dressed as Father Christmas, known to Russians as Grandfather Frost, appeared, rousing the crowds with slogans such as “Russia without Putin” and declaring that next year there would be a “Free Russia”.
Despite the winter chill, the crowd was energised.
“We have understood that we can mobilise. It is impossible to stop a crowd like this,” said Andrei Luzhin, 32, one of the protestors.
Some people climbed on trees, lamp posts and even on top of traffic patrol booths to see better, the elderly passing around flasks with steaming tea and the younger generation dancing in step to keep warm in the winter wind.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 25th, 2011.
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Medvedev refused to have the parliamentary elections re-run, dismissing the allegation they were rigged. The new Duma convened a few days ago amid major street protests in Moscow. Mikhail Gorbachev, the last head of state of the USSR urged Vladimir Putin to give up power voluntarily and withdraw his candidacy in next year's presidential election. Indeed Putin should care more for his place in history and being remembered with fondness. He had helped the economy grow the last decade, but failed to modernise the country. If his victory in next year's elections were inevitable, he should reform, like the patron of his own city St. Petersburg, Peter the Great.
Waves of democracy in Russia I am loving it...