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Sanctioned opposition rally to be held in central St Petersburg

The rally will begin at 2 pm Moscow time, and organizers believe it will bring together up to 5,000 people

ST. PETERSBURG, December 15 (Itar-Tass) — A local opposition Freedom March will be held on Saturday in the centre of Russia’s second biggest city of St. Petersburg.

Unlike in Moscow, where negotiations of the city authorities and the opposition concerning the route of the march deadlocked, the action has been coordinated with the administration in Petersburg.

Local political activists had to meet the St. Petersburg government halfway “in order to hold the rally in the centre of the city” and not on its outskirts, Andrei Pivovarov from the coordination council of the opposition told Tass earlier.

The rally will begin at 2 pm Moscow time, and organizers believe it will bring together up to 5,000 people. At the same time, Petersburg oppositionists have once again failed to agree among themselves – part of activists will march along the same route one hour later.

The organizers plan to do without political symbols, oppositionists will carry only the National Flag of Russia and the flag of the city. Earlier, party flags used to cause conflicts among oppositionists at such actions. Pivovarov also said that all opposition organizations of the city had been invited to take part in the rally.

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