Moscow authorities turn down Opposition's request for May 6 rally

MOSCOW, May 3 (Itar-Tass) — Moscow Town Hall on Thursday denied a series of the Opposition's actions on May 6 and notified the prosecutor's office, head of the city's regional security department Alexei Maiyorov told Itar-Tass.

"We have denied the request to hold a rally in Manezhnaya Square on May 6 involving 25,000 persons, or the one in Revolyutsii Square, to applicant Mark Galperin who calls himself a member of the "Solidarity" movement," Maiyorov said.

"He declined the options we suggested and is continuing, through the mass media, to urge people to come to Manezhnaya square and stay there. We notified the prosecutor's office that we have denied coordination of the rally to him," he added.

Galperin called for holding a rally against Vladimir Putin's taking office as president. Meanwhile, co-chairman of the Moscow branch of "Solidarity" Sergei Davidis told Tass that "Galperin is indeed a member of the movement, but that in this particular case he acts independently from the movement's bodies."

Aside from Mark Galperin, activists of the Communist Party /KPRF/ and Labor Russia submitted requests to hold a rally in Revolyutsiya Square in support of the Lenin mausoleum. ««We offered them to postpone the action; they are likely to move it to a later date; I believe we'll have an understanding here," the Moscow official said.

Meanwhile, Maiyorov said the coordination of the route of the "March of Millions" on the application by Sergei Udaltsov /one of the organizers of the action/ continued on Thursday morning. The process is dragging on because on that day, the military will have a rehearsal of the May 9 parade; so coordination with numerous departments and law-enforcement bodies is necessary.

"The main option is a march of 5,000 people along the Yakimanka Street and a meeting in Bolotnaya Square," Maiyorov reminded.

Udaltsov said the phrase "March of Millions" is tentative and that it has become popular. The notification was for 5,000 people from the beginning, he explained.

"We understand that it is hardly possible to gather more people than before the elections, but it's not the number but the principle that is important to us in this particular case. We regard the regime illegitimate, and we believe it is important to express our protest," "Solidarity" co-chairman Sergei Davidis said.