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Opposition Plans 'Farewell to Political Winter' Rally

Members of the political opposition put in an application Monday to hold a rally on Feb. 26 called "Farewell to the Political Winter" on Ploshchad Revolyutsii next to the Kremlin, RIA-Novosti reported.

Left Front coordinator Sergei Udaltsov said the application specifies attendance of up to 1,000 people. City Hall is expected to announced its decision on whether to allow the rally within three days.

A major opposition rally on Dec. 10 had been scheduled to take place at the symbolic Ploshchad Revolyutsii, or Revolution Square, but was moved at the last minute to Bolotnaya Ploshchad, a larger and more remote location.

Also on Feb. 26 the opposition has planned an event called "Big White Circle," in which participants will join hands to form an unbroken circle around the Garden Ring Road. City Hall has said no approval is needed for that event.

The opposition has also already planned a rally for March 5, the day after the presidential election, that organizers say will "sum up" the results of the vote.

The opposition's loosely formed organizing committee has agreed to apply to City Hall to hold a demonstration at 7 p.m. on March 5, according to a statement on the website of opposition group Left Front.

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