Opposition activists are refusing to back down in their bid to stage a rally in support of the Bolotnaya case defendants at the end of October.
City Hall on Thursday rejected their application to hold a 30,000-man march on Oct. 26 on the grounds that the application form had been filled out incorrectly. Security official Vasily Oleinik said that it would be impossible to process another application to organize a rally for the same date due to time constraints.
But the co-organizers have come back with another proposal, this time for Oct. 27. "The request is the same, as well as the route," said Pyotr Tsarkov, an activist from the Solidarity movement, Interfax reported Friday.
Organizers plan to lead a procession from Pushkin Square to Turgenev Square, and then finally on to Lubyanskaya Ploschad.
The march is intended as a show of support for the 12 defendants in the Bolotnaya case, who are currently on trial for their participating in an authorized anti-government rally on Bolotnaya Ploshchad on May 6, 2012, that ended in scuffles with police. The opposition believes the authorities provoked the clashes to clamp down on the growing protest movement in Russia.
The new application will be considered in due course, City Hall said.
A Message from The Moscow Times:
Dear readers,
We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."
These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.
By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.
Remind me later.