Russia: Anti-Putin activists plan Moscow street protest

Activists refusing to recognise the election of Vladimir Putin are seeking to keep up the post-election pressure with a mass protest on Saturday, but concede that the movement needs to move beyond the streets of Moscow.

Organisers hope to see at least 50,000 people turn out for the protest on New Arbat, one of the city’s main streets. But just over 5,000 people have signed up for the event on Facebook, while a post-election protest on Monday gathered 20,000 people, a fraction of those who attended protests in the lead-up to Russia’s presidential vote.

Although anger remains high at Putin’s re-election, in a vote that international observers say was marred by fraud and a lack of competition, there is a recognition among protest leaders that the movement must move beyond public rallies in its bid to challenge Russia’s frozen political system.

Putin won nearly 64% of the vote around the country, according to official figures, but he failed to break the 50% barrier in Moscow. Alexey Navalny, a popular opposition leader, has spoken of creating a “universal propaganda machine” to break the hold of state-run television in provincial Russia. (via The Guardian)