The Other Russia, a coalition of opposition groups, vowed Thursday that it would defy the authorities and press on with its March of Dissenters on Saturday.
Moscow officials this month banned the march, which is meant to protest what opposition leaders describe as Russia's slide into the authoritarian abyss.
United Civil Front leader Garry Kasparov blasted the city for trying to shut down the demonstration, citing federal law No. 54. "This is an absolute violation of our constitutional rights," Kasparov said.
Kasparov, a former chess champion, spoke with other members of The Other Russia at a news conference at the Extropolis conference center in central Moscow.
Law No. 54 grants officials the right to be notified of public events but not to ban them, Kasparov said, citing the country' human rights ombudsman, Vladimir Lukin.
The City Prosecutor's Office has notified The Other Russia that holding the march, in violation of City Hall's ban, would be treated as a criminal offense, representatives of the group said.
Moscow officials say the march, which is expected to traverse the city center, would exacerbate traffic. As an alternative, the authorities proposed The Other Russia hold a meeting, not a march, on Triumfalnaya Ploshchad, near the Mayakovskaya metro station.
The Other Russia representatives contended they were being treated unfairly and on Wednesday filed a lawsuit against the city in the Tverskoi municipal court. No hearing had been scheduled as of Thursday.
Kasparov said attendees would simply walk from one sanctioned event to another -- in effect, holding a march.
Between 3,000 and 4,000 people are expected to walk from Triumfalnaya Ploshchad, where the city had said demonstrators could convene, to Teatralnaya Ploshchad.
The Working Russia Party, part of The Other Russia coalition, has been permitted to hold a meeting Saturday at 1 p.m. on Teatralnaya Ploshchad.
The Other Russia also includes the Republican Party, the People's Democratic Union and the unregistered National Bolshevik Party; members from these parties are expected to take part in Saturday's demonstration. The Other Russia demonstrators are also to be joined by members of Red Youth Avant-Garde, Oborona and Smena, which do not belong to the coalition.
"A change in Russia can only take place [through] joint actions by different political forces," Kasparov said.
Kasparov said the march was The Other Russia's first major public event.
"The authorities don't have any arguments left," said Ivan Starikov, an organizer of the march and a member of the People's Democratic Union, speaking at Thursday's news conference. "We are all equal in the eyes of the Constitution, even though we belong to different political parties."
City officials have given the pro-Kremlin youth group Nashi approval to hold a large-scale march Sunday, despite the potential for tying up traffic. City Hall refused to comment Thursday. The Other Russia supporters elsewhere in the country have been pressured by authorities to sign a statement saying they will not leave their home towns over the weekend, Red Youth Avant-Garde leader Sergei Udaltsov said.
National Bolshevik leader Eduard Limonov promised Saturday's event "will be absolutely peaceful." But Limonov said he feared the authorities would try to provoke violence in an effort to discredit the opposition coalition.
"The authorities will use any opportunity to escalate the situation," Kasparov said.
Also on Thursday, Moscow's Khoroshovsky Court opened its hearing on Mikhail Kasyanov, a former prime minister and member of The Other Russia. Kasyanov, who also heads the People's Democratic Union, is accused by the Federal Property Management Agency of illegally privatizing his luxurious state dacha in 2004. Prosecutors opened their investigation last summer.
The Federal Property Management Agency declined to comment.
Staff Writer Kevin O'Flynn contributed to this report.
Moscow officials this month banned the march, which is meant to protest what opposition leaders describe as Russia's slide into the authoritarian abyss.
United Civil Front leader Garry Kasparov blasted the city for trying to shut down the demonstration, citing federal law No. 54. "This is an absolute violation of our constitutional rights," Kasparov said.
Kasparov, a former chess champion, spoke with other members of The Other Russia at a news conference at the Extropolis conference center in central Moscow.
Law No. 54 grants officials the right to be notified of public events but not to ban them, Kasparov said, citing the country' human rights ombudsman, Vladimir Lukin.
The City Prosecutor's Office has notified The Other Russia that holding the march, in violation of City Hall's ban, would be treated as a criminal offense, representatives of the group said.
Moscow officials say the march, which is expected to traverse the city center, would exacerbate traffic. As an alternative, the authorities proposed The Other Russia hold a meeting, not a march, on Triumfalnaya Ploshchad, near the Mayakovskaya metro station.
The Other Russia representatives contended they were being treated unfairly and on Wednesday filed a lawsuit against the city in the Tverskoi municipal court. No hearing had been scheduled as of Thursday.
Kasparov said attendees would simply walk from one sanctioned event to another -- in effect, holding a march.
Between 3,000 and 4,000 people are expected to walk from Triumfalnaya Ploshchad, where the city had said demonstrators could convene, to Teatralnaya Ploshchad.
The Working Russia Party, part of The Other Russia coalition, has been permitted to hold a meeting Saturday at 1 p.m. on Teatralnaya Ploshchad.
The Other Russia also includes the Republican Party, the People's Democratic Union and the unregistered National Bolshevik Party; members from these parties are expected to take part in Saturday's demonstration. The Other Russia demonstrators are also to be joined by members of Red Youth Avant-Garde, Oborona and Smena, which do not belong to the coalition.
"A change in Russia can only take place [through] joint actions by different political forces," Kasparov said.
Kasparov said the march was The Other Russia's first major public event.
"The authorities don't have any arguments left," said Ivan Starikov, an organizer of the march and a member of the People's Democratic Union, speaking at Thursday's news conference. "We are all equal in the eyes of the Constitution, even though we belong to different political parties."
City officials have given the pro-Kremlin youth group Nashi approval to hold a large-scale march Sunday, despite the potential for tying up traffic. City Hall refused to comment Thursday. The Other Russia supporters elsewhere in the country have been pressured by authorities to sign a statement saying they will not leave their home towns over the weekend, Red Youth Avant-Garde leader Sergei Udaltsov said.
National Bolshevik leader Eduard Limonov promised Saturday's event "will be absolutely peaceful." But Limonov said he feared the authorities would try to provoke violence in an effort to discredit the opposition coalition.
"The authorities will use any opportunity to escalate the situation," Kasparov said.
Also on Thursday, Moscow's Khoroshovsky Court opened its hearing on Mikhail Kasyanov, a former prime minister and member of The Other Russia. Kasyanov, who also heads the People's Democratic Union, is accused by the Federal Property Management Agency of illegally privatizing his luxurious state dacha in 2004. Prosecutors opened their investigation last summer.
The Federal Property Management Agency declined to comment.
Staff Writer Kevin O'Flynn contributed to this report.
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