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Authorities give go-ahead to August 25 rally with up to 100,000 people without march

The rally was requested by the unregistered Libertarian Party of Russia

MOSCOW, August 14. /TASS/. The Moscow authorities have coordinated a rally without a march on Academician Sakhrov Avenue on August 25 with an attendance of up to 100,000 people, the first deputy head of the Moscow Security Department, Vasily Oleinik, told TASS on Wednesday.

A group of citizens requested the Moscow government to authorize a march between 2pm and 6pm on August 25 from central Pushkin Square to Academician Sakharov Avenue along the boulevards, with a makeshift platform to be mounted on the avenue, he stated. "The organizers received well-reasoned suggestions to stage a rally without a march," Oleinik said.

The rally was requested by the unregistered Libertarian Party of Russia, the party press service specified. Under the plans, the participants were expected to meet on Pushkin Square at 1pm to then march down Moscow’s boulevards to Academician Sakharov Avenue, it told TASS.

Moscow rallies

The previous, August 10, rally was the fourth one conducted in support of independent candidates barred from running for the Moscow City Duma (parliament). The previous demonstrations were held on July 20 and July 27, as well as on August 3. Only the first of them had been authorized by the Moscow Mayor’s Office.

Prior to the July 27 and August 3 rallies, 15 unregistered candidates for the Moscow parliament, who had organized the events, ignored the warnings by prosecutors about criminal liability for breaking the law.

More than 1,000 people were detained on July 27 during an unauthorized rally. Russia’s Investigative Committee has opened several criminal cases, including into mass riots, during which 13 people were arrested. Some 600 people were detained for taking part in an unsanctioned rally on August 3.