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Thousands rally in Russia against economic policy
About 1,000 people demonstrated in St. Petersburg holding placards reading “Putin’s team must resign!”
Police did not intervene in the St. Petersburg protest, but they barred protesters chanting anti-Putin slogans from holding a rally in downtown Moscow. City police spokesman Viktor Biryukov said 70 people had been detained for taking part in the protest, which was not authorized by authorities.
Opposition activists have insisted the Russian constitution guarantees the right of assembly.
Authorities allowed an earlier protest of about 1,000 people in another section of Moscow to demand reform of the Russian traffic police department, which has been criticized for corruption and inefficiency.
An opposition rally in the far eastern port of Vladivostok drew about 1,500 people, and similar protests were to be held in many other cities throughout Russia on Saturday.
Several thousand demonstrators gathered in the Baltic city of Kaliningrad despite a decision by opposition leaders to cancel the protest. They chanted “Government should resign!” and called for the ouster of the provincial governor, the Interfax news agency reported. Police did not intervene.
Organizers said about 5,000 people attended the protest, while police said about 3,000 took part, Interfax said.
A rally in Kaliningrad in January attracted about 10,000 in the largest anti-government protest in years, and the event clearly worried the government. Putin has criticized the main pro-Kremlin party, saying its empty promises have fed discontent.
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