Russian opposition calls for “march of millions” on March 5March 15, 2012 - 15:22 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Russian leftist leader Sergei Udaltsov proposed to hold a “march of millions” in Moscow on May 5, two days before the inauguration of president-elect Vladimir Putin, whose victory Udaltsov calls unfair. The protest is to be a follow-up to a string of anti-Putin rallies that took place in the capital between December and March, most of them attracting tens of thousands, Udaltsov said on his blog on Ekho Moskvy radio’s website. “If the authorities have ignored a rally of a hundred thousand, we need to bring out more,” Udaltsov said on Wednesday afternoon. He said he will urge residents of regions around Moscow to join. The rally is to demand repeat presidential and parliamentary elections, carried by Putin and his United Russia party, respectively, amid vote fraud allegations, Udaltsov said. “Let’s come out to one of Moscow squares and not leave if we’re numerous enough,” Udaltsov said. He has championed in recent weeks the idea of a prolonged street protest, though all attempts to stage one were immediately ended by police. Fellow protest leader Alexei Navalny was fined 1,000 rubles ($33) on Thursday over allegedly disobeying police during such a protest on March 5. Udaltsov proposed earlier to turn the Labor Day demonstration on May 1 into a “march of millions.” He did not elaborate on what prompted the date change. Neither Moscow City Hall nor opposition leaders have commented on the proposal. Most protest organizers said earlier this month that with the election cycle completed, the rally season was over for a while, RIA Novosti reported. Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Police try to impede Armenian Church head’s access to war memorial Police tried to stop the supreme head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Catholicos Karekin II, from visiting a war memorial. Greece says ready to help as Armenia fights flooding consequences Greece is ready to assist Armenia in combatting the consequences of deadly floods in the country’s north. “He will leave”: Protest leader no longer demands meeting with Pashinyan Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan no longer demands a meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. Lemkin Institute petition seeks release of Armenians in Azerbaijan The Lemkin Institute is deeply concerned about the continued illegal detention of political prisoners from Karabakh in Azerbaijan. |