Frequency Top 25

Description

ANTI PUTIN PROTESTERS IN MOSCOW !!! FREEZING COLD DOES NOT STOP THEM !! ANTI PUTIN PROTESTERS IN MOSCOW !!! FREEZING COLD DOES NOT STOP THEM !! A series of similar actions in December shocked the Russian establishment with their size and giddy, infectious mood, as a famously passive part of the electorate coalesced into huge crowds that chanted "Putin, go away" and "We exist." But the momentum seemed to dissipate during the month of January, as opposition factions squabbled and Mr. Putin's victory in the March 4 election began to appear imminent and certain. Then, of course, there was the weather — at noon the sun was a remote white disk above the horizon, and the temperature was measured at 20 degrees below zero Celsius, or —4 Fahrenheit. Despite that, city authorities said that Saturday's crowd was larger than either of the December gatherings, offering an estimate of 36,000. Organizers gave an estimate of 120,000. At the head of the march, people pressed around the anti-corruption blogger Aleksei Navalny, shouting, "Aleksei, we are behind you!" and "We will follow you!" At first, the crowd was so tightly packed that the column could not move forward. "We're cold, but we came," said Mr. Navalny, who has attracted digitally connected young Russians new to political activism. "This is not some fashion for protest. This is a real protest, because people keep coming. People came on their own — we don't have any buses, we're not bringing people here. All we do is send out a call. And the people come." The authorities had prepared by convening a pro-government rally in another part of the city, and the police reported that the crowd there grew to 138,000, more than four times the size of the anti-government march. On the podium at that event, many speakers focused their attention on the protest movement, warning that it could prove disastrous for Russia. "We have opinions about Vladimir Putin — some support him, some don't — but we will not allow the country to fall apart," said Maksim Shevchenko, a prominent television and radio host, in remarks carried by Interfax. "We need clean elections, we need to fight against the tyranny of law enforcement, and our new president — whoever he is — will do this. But we do not want the country to break up, and we do not want a coup." Even as activists worked to muster a large crowd for Saturday's anti-government march, it was clear that few people are expecting swift political change. With precisely a month left before presidential elections, polls show that Mr. Putin is far ahead of his four rivals in the race, and has a good chance of breaking the 50 percent barrier to win in a first round. A possible second round would take place three weeks later, calling into question Mr. Putin's authority and setting the stage for further protests, but he would be almost certain to win in that case, as well. Meanwhile, the protest movement has not coalesced into a coherent political force, and lacks leaders prepared to directly challenge Mr. Putin. Maksim Trudolyubov, the editorial editor of the newspaper Vedomosti, said the protests' major impact, at this point, is to broadcast a message that Mr. Putin does not enjoy the level of support he once did, and must adjust his leadership style as he enters his six-year presidential term. "We are standing at a really important threshold for this country," Mr. Trudolyubov said in a recent interview. "Right now, if nothing extraordinary happens — a black swan, or something — he is of course the president in March. But in March, he will be a very different president, a president with a different level of legitimacy." The march came to an end at Bolotnaya Square, the site of a gathering on Dec. 10. It was a biting cold; fingers went numb after a minute's contact with the air, and exposed faces began to ache with the specific pain that Russians call "needles." Marchers' scarves were coated with white frost from exhaled breath. Some hopped en masse...