Several female activists have been detained after trying to attach a banner to the walls of the Kremlin calling for the ouster of men from Russian politics.
A video uploaded on social media shows activists standing on the red, outer wall of the Kremlin facing the Alexandrovsky gardens, with a banner reading: “Two hundred years of men in power. Out with them!” They had also set off several blue-colored smoke bombs.
Another photo of the stunt showed a different banner attached to the Kremlin's corner tower Uglovaya Arsenalnaya reading: “Our national idea— Feminism”
According to the blogger Ilya Varlamov, several other activists managed to get onto the Kremlin's inner grounds, carrying posters with slogans such as “A woman for president” and “We're the majority.”
Police have detained seven people, including several activists, a photographer and a journalist for Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta, the police monitoring website OVD-Info reported.
International Women's Day on March 8 has been widely celebrated in Russia since 1913. While many countries use the occasion to call for greater gender equality, women in Russia often take on a more passive role, receiving gifts of chocolates and flowers.
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