31st Rally Sanctioned

Dec. 21, 2010

City Hall has sanctioned an opposition rally on Triumfalnaya Ploshchad on Dec. 31 after organizers agreed to limit the number of participants to 1,000 instead of the initially requested 1,500, RIA-Novosti said Tuesday.

Lev Ponomaryov, an organizer, said the activists did not expect even a 1,000 protesters to show up.

Eduard Limonov’s The Other Russia coalition has filed a request for a 2,500-member rally at the same place on Dec. 31 but received no reply.

Meanwhile, St. Petersburg authorities denied requests for a similar rally, Interfax reported.

Activists have rallied on the 31st of each month since 2009 to draw attention to Article 31 of the Constitution, which grants freedom of assembly.

(MT)

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