Russian police beat protestors
2007-04-15 14:15
Saint Petersburg - Riot police clubbed and detained protestors in Saint Petersburg as they left a peaceful demonstration against President Vladimir Putin, the day after mass arrests at a march in Moscow.
Up to 2 000 demonstrators from the anti-Kremlin coalition The Other Russia braved a huge police presence in the centre of Russia's second city to call for free presidential elections when Putin steps down next year.
"Revolution!" and "freedom!" they chanted.
At least 1 500 members of the security forces, including hundreds of black-helmeted OMON paramilitary police, deployed to prevent protestors from carrying out their promise to march on the mayor's office.
As the rally dispersed, police beat and detained anyone attempting to escape the security cordon.
A policeman at the scene told AFP that several dozen people had been detained.
Among them was Eduard Limonov, one of the leaders of the Russian opposition coalition The Other Russia, his spokesperson told AFP.
The clashes followed a violent crackdown on a similar rally by The Other Russia in Moscow on Saturday. At least 200 people were arrested there, including opposition leader and former world chess champion Garry Kasparov.
Tensions are rising in Russia ahead of the March 2008 presidential election to replace Putin, who is constitutionally required to step down at the end of his second term.
Putin, who has overseen rapid economic growth in Russia, is widely popular and whoever he endorses is expected to take over the Kremlin.
The disparate groups in The Other Russia coalition, ranging from pro-Western liberals like Kasparov to radical leftists, say they have the authorities rattled.
"The last two days showed that the Putin regime doesn't pay attention any more to legalities and relies on brute force," Kasparov told CNN television.
"My prediction is that by the end of this year Russia will sink into political turmoil."
"The authorities are scared of the people," said Viktor Petrovich, 58, at the Saint Petersburg rally. "They feel unsafe and that's why they deploy so many police."
The leader of the National Bolsheviks, an anti-Putin youth group that specialises in street demonstrations, told protestors that the "authorities have declared war on the people."
"We demand free elections to parliament, we demand free elections to the presidency - without any successors. Down with autocracy!"
Outspoken political debate is rare in Russia, while criticism of Putin is almost never heard.
The state controls all television and nearly all radio, while Kremlin supporters constitute a large majority in parliament.
The Other Russia has never been able to bring more than 5 000 people onto the streets, but the weekend's drama in Moscow and Saint Petersburg appeared to underline the authorities' impatience with opposition.
In Moscow, 9 000 riot police and soldiers were deployed to prevent less than 2 000 activists marching peacefully to a central square in the capital.
In Saint Petersburg, arrests began hours before the protest even started, including two organisers for The Other Russia.
During the protest, riot police encircled the rally, while more police waited nearby in covered trucks.
Private transport was banned from adjacent streets, a helicopter circled overhead and mobile phone connections were temporarily unavailable.
As protestors began to leave, police formed a corridor leading to the underground metro station and beat or detained all those attempting to break out.
A middle-aged woman was left with a bloody nose. Police rushed to kick a man as he lay on the ground after falling from a fence he had tried to climb to escape the cordon.
"Shame!" Demonstrators chanted as police forced about 10 protestors aboard a bus.
- AFP