USA TODAY International Edition
Anti- Putin protesters unite in pursuit of change
Parties, ideals merge in call for reform in Russia
MOSCOW — The Russians who spawned the largest protests here since the fall of the Soviet Union are under no illusions that their demands for fair elections and an end to the “corrupt” government of Vladimir Putin will be met soon.
“One peaceful march will not change our country,” said protest organizer Boris Nemtsov. “We are ready for a long, hard struggle.”
Tens of thousands of people streamed into snowy downtown Moscow on Saturday to call for an end to the rule of Prime Minister Putin, who they say has repressed political opponents for 12 years.
Protest organizers said 120,000 people crowded into Bolotnaya Square, chanting: “Russia without Putin!” The people represented various beliefs and parties but were united in opposing Putin, who is running for a six- year term as president in elections March 4.
Putin held the presidency from 2000 to 2008. Barred by the Russian Constitution from running for what would have been a third four- year term, he oversaw the election of his hand- picked successor, Dmitry Medvedev, and then took the position of prime minister. Now Putin can run again, and Medvedev has stepped aside.
Many Russians say no one can defeat Putin because he has ensured they are denied coverage of their campaigns on state- controlled media and election officials are in the Kremlin’s pocket. The head of Russia’s election bureau, Vladimir Churov, once said: “My first rule is that Putin is always right.”
“Putin is sure to win in March,” protester Irina Danukina said, “but things are starting to change, and we will continue to come out on the streets.”
Although Putin may have made raised living standards, his critics say he is stifling political and civic development and encouraging massive corruption. Saturday’s march was the third mass opposition rally since allegations of vote fraud in favor of Putin’s United Russia party at December’s parliamentary polls.
“Things simply can’t go on like this,” student Oleg Stepanov said. “The lies, the corruption, the paranoia about the West.”
Russia placed 143rd out of 182 countries in Transparency International’s 2011 corruption index, level with Nigeria, Uganda and Togo. Investors at the recent World Economic Forum in Switzerland complained of oppressive regulations, bribery and a corrupt justice system.
Russia analysts say the protesters are too diverse a group to be able to formulate a coherent program to challenge United Russia. Saturday’s rally was made up of a bewildering number of political movements, from liberals to nationalists, monarchists to anarchists.
“Yes, we are all different,” Grigory Yavlinksy, head of the liberal Yabloko Party told the crowd Saturday. “But we are all of one color — the color of the Russian flag!”
Medvedev proposed in December a package of political changes, including a softening of the rules for the registration of political parties. Protest leaders have dismissed the proposals as “imitation reforms.”
“Our demands have still not been met, ” said Konstantin Bortsov, of the radical street action Other Russia movement.
The Russian government has accused protesters of attempting to instigate a Westernbacked “Orange Revolution” in Russia, a reference to the uprising in the former Soviet republic of Ukraine. Protest organizers said government workers were forced to attend a counter- protest for Putin.
State- run television in January ran footage of protest leaders going to the U. S. Embassy in Moscow to meet Washington’s new ambassador to Russia, Michael Mcfaul. The report was entitled “U. S. Embassy: Receiving instructions.”
“Opposition leaders could even call on the United States to take control of Russia’s nuclear arsenal!” anti- Orange rally organizer and TV anchor Sergei Kurginyan said at the counter- rally.
Opponents vowed to press on, saying, “We’ll be back,” on a social network site on Sunday.
“It’s great to see so many people here,” protester Galina Utkina said. “It’s so important to feel that you are not alone.”