Thousands Gathered for Rallies in Moscow and other Cities, and there are Arrests Again

Despite the rainy weather and the absence of all opposition leaders in Moscow on Andrey Sakharov Boulevard for the third consecutive Saturday, thousands of dissatisfied gathered because of the non-admission of candidates for the September local government elections in the capital. This time, the "regaining the right to vote" event was kept by the authorities, but it drew discontent against the crackdown on law enforcement and President Vladimir Putin's administration in general.

Comparable to 2012, the scale of the protests comes at a time when 20 years have passed since Putin came to power - he was appointed prime minister on 9 August 1999.

According to figures, at 16:00 - shortly before the end of the two and a half hours allowed by the authorities - at least 47,200 people gathered from the independent White Counter organization on the boulevard (MI reported twice less) on request for up to 100,000 participants.

Entering the rally area was delayed by passing through metal detectors. For security checks, some waited between 20 and 40 minutes, sometimes the appliances did not work, sometimes the mode was more liberal and passed quickly. However, the event is the largest protest action in years.

Minutes before the riot police arrested Lyubov Sobol, the only leader to be released, by storming into her office. The official explanation is that the rally organizers warned that she and others were preparing provocations. Arrests and searches also interrupted the transmission of events on the Internet by Navalny Live.

Many, including popular bloggers and rap artists, have urged people to get involved, "because this may be our last free rally." A young participant wearing a Soviet flag explained to Rain TV that he was so eager to say...