March of a million, more than 400 arrests on eve of Putin’s inauguration
Moscow (AsiaNews) - Vladimir Putin takes office for the third time in the
Kremlin today, just hours after the violence used by Russian forces against
anti-government protesters gathered on May 6 in Balotnaja Square in Moscow. The
former prime minister will vow to uphold the Constitution, before 2 thousand
guests in front of St. Andrew's Hall in the Grand Kremlin Palace, while outside
the opposition intensifies and denounce at least 600 arrests during the riots
(over 400 according to police ). Among
the those arrested the three leaders of the movement, the famous blogger Alexei
Navalni, Solidarnost founder Boris Nemtsov and Sergei Udaltsov of the Left Front.
After
the overwhelming victory of the former KGB agent in March 4 presidential
elections, the opposition seemed to have been weakened. The
so-called "march of a million" did, however, manage to rally at least
50,000 people in central Moscow on a public holiday, according to figures from
the organizers (8,000 instead of the Ministry of Interior). After
a peaceful procession of about two hours, the protesters had converged on Balotnaja
square, already the scene of the maxi-protests this winter, where they found
the road blocked by a large number of police who had cordoned off the entire center
of the square, leaving only a narrow space for the people to hold the announced
public meeting. The
idea already circulated in the days before the march was to move towards the
Kremlin, crossing the Kamenni Most (Stone Bridge), but the special forces were already
organized to prevent the crowd from advancing. At
that point, tempers flared and it did not take long for fighting to ensue. The
people broke through the cordons and police responded with batons, charges and
smoke. Thirty-three
people were injured and six were hospitalized, half of the wounded were police
officers.
That
of 6 May was the first demonstration to result in violence since mid-December
when Russian civil society first took to the streets protesting the Putin's authority.
The
Russian president has always shown indifference to the protesters, often belittling
them. The
few concessions made to the demonstrators - such as the return to direct
elections of governors and the new law that makes registration of political
parties easier - are seen as little more than cosmetic operations. Power
appeared fossilized, and hence the opposition has been radicalized. The
leadership of the opposition had to meet the demands of the grass roots of
their movement, which for weeks has demanded greater determination against the
authorities and no more compromise. The
hundreds of arrests show that, in turn, Moscow has no intention of backing down.
On the day of the clashes that marred his return to the Kremlin, Vladimir Vladimirovich attended a ceremony to deliver an ancient icon to the Russian Orthodox Church and to visit the church of St. Vladimir, his patron saint, accompanied by Patriarch Kirill. Many bloggers on the internet are now suggesting that "when his power is not legitimized by the ballot box, he resorts to the using religion."
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24/09/2022 17:28
