Thousands rally for Putin
Motorists take to the streets in show of force two weeks before election
MOSCOW: Tens of thousands of people demonstrated in cities across Russia in support of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in a show of force two weeks before a March 4 presidential election that is expected to return him to the Kremlin.
The rallies began in the Pacific coast port of Vladivostok and culminated with a late-night demonstration on wheels in Moscow, where motorists took to the streets with slogans such as “Putin rules” on their cars.
“One wish unites us: we want to be sure of tomorrow,” said a declaration read out at the rally in St Petersburg, which like many others was organised by trade unions that have close government ties.
The declaration urged Russians to vote on March 4 and “defend the right to the stable future”.
In central Moscow, about 10 people staging a street protest against Putin were detained, Ekho Moskvy radio reported.
The pro-putin rallies were aimed at showing that the prime minister, who could remain president until 2024 if he wins two straight terms, had majority support despite the biggest opposition protests of his 12-year rule.
Opponents said state workers were pressured to attend the pro-putin rallies with a combination of threats and payments, and that police exaggerate the size of the crowds while underestimating the size of opposition protests.
Tens of thousands of people have turned out for opposition protests in recent months, venting anger over suspected fraud in December’s parliamentary election, and over what they see as a lack of say in Putin’s tightly controlled political system.
On Feb 4, when opponents held their most recent big protests in Moscow, supporters of Putin staged a rally that may have been even bigger and echoed his portrayal of the protesters as Western-funded troublemakers bent on revolution.
At Saturday’s rallies, demonstrators said they wanted stability, which Putin said he brought to Russia after the economic troubles ushered in by the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union.
Authorities said crowds of thousands gathered in many cities, and as many as 60,000 in St Petersburg, Russia’s second city and the hometown of Putin. — Reuters