MOSCOW, June 9 (Itar-Tass) — Following week-long negotiations with the opposition, the Moscow city authorities on Friday finally permitted to hold the June 12 March of Millions along the Boulevard Ring, from Pushkin Square to Sakharov Avenue, Left Front coordinator Sergei Udaltsov said. Opposition organizations that had applied for permits to stage a number of separate actions consolidated into one common action.
Earlier, on May 30, the Moscow authorities refused to permit a rally on a pretext that the opposition might provoke mass riots in downtown Moscow, where the authorities plan to hold a number of festival events on the occasion of the Russia Day marked on June 12, the RBC daily writes. On Friday, the parties finally arrived at a compromise solution.
The first March of Millions was held on May 6, on the eve of Vladimir Putin’s inauguration, the newspaper reminds. The action was crowned by clashes with police and mass arrests, instead of a peaceful rally. Some people were seen to throw stones and bottles at the police. From 120 to 219 people were reported to be detained during the spontaneous rally. About 30 policemen were hurt in clashes.
Both the authorities and the opposition seemed to be happy with the option agreed on Friday, the Kommersant stresses. The opposition plans to draw up to 50,000 people, although organizers say they would not mind if more people come.
Opposition activists however are getting ready for arrests, the Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper writes. A king of manual is available on the Internet, which teaches what to do while being detained by police. It lists right actions of the detained and “correct” answers to 75 questions the police may ask. Meanwhile, human rights activists say that complaints against police violations during arrests are now very rare.