MOSCOW, August 24 (Itar-Tass) — The United Russia Party considers reasonable although “archaic” the decision of the Moscow authorities to organize in Moscow two analogues of the London Hyde Park, where public speaking is allowed on any subject without fear of legal repercussions.
“The decision to create two sites, the so-called Hyde Parks, in Sokolniki and Gorky parks is quite reasonable for the present-day situation,” the deputy secretary of United Russia’s General Council, Alexei Chesnakov, told Itar-Tass.
He said these are popular in Moscow places of mass congestion. Thus “if the organizers of events want to get their point of view over to a lot of people, these sites will be most efficient,” he believes.
The demand of the opposition to use Bolotnaya and Triumfalnaya squares for public speaking are unfounded, Chesnakov believes. “I believe this is not correct form the point of view of city hygiene as well as political hygiene,” he said.
Moreover, Chesnakov thinks the very idea of hyde parks is an anachronism “in conditions of the development of modern means of communication – television, Internet and social networking sites”. He said “the activity in social networking sites gives nowadays much more possibilities for getting one’s point of view over to mainstream audience”.
Analogues of the London Hyde Park will appear at Moscow’s Sokolniki and Gorky parks soon, Alexei Mayorov, the head of the Moscow department of regional security, told journalists on Thursday.
Mayorov said that two parks were the most popular and visited places in Moscow.
“We are going to designate special areas where people could gather to express their political views,” Mayorov went on to say.