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OMON prevents opposition action on Moscow’s Pushkin Square

More than 50 people gathered on Pushkin Square, but OMON formed a live chain and forced them into the metro

Photo ITAR-TASS

Photo ITAR-TASS

MOSCOW, May 8 (Itar-Tass) —— The opposition ‘public gathering’ on Pushkin Square has been prevented by OMON.

About ten people are taken into custody. An approximately the same number of protesters were detained on Chistoprudny Boulevard earlier. In all, about 200-300 protesters gathered on the boulevard. Additional OMON details were brought there, and the protesters were moving towards the Kitai Gorod metro station when the detentions began. Some of the detainees were carrying carpets for a sit-down strike. None of them is known to the general public.

The Other Russia opposition movement said that the detainees included five of its activists – two were detained on Pushkin Square and three on Chistoprudny Boulevard.

More than 50 people gathered on Pushkin Square, but OMON formed a live chain and forced them into the metro. People are leaving the square. Some are going to Tverskoy Boulevard and Novopushkinsky Park.

Left Front coordinator Sergei Udaltsov and blogger Alexei Navalny released from custody visited Chistoprudny Boulevard in the morning. They spent 40 minutes together with the protesters before going home to get some sleep. Yabloko leader Sergei Mitrokhin came to the boulevard later on. He said the protest should develop peacefully.

“The open-ended public gathering” started last night. From 200 to 500 people spent the night near the Heroes of Plevna Monument. The police stopped the action in the morning and the protesters moved to Chistoprudny Boulevard.

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