Saint Petersburg Dissenters' March

The Dissenters' March (russian: Марш несогласных) was a series of Russian opposition protests that took place on December 16, 2006 in Moscow, on March 3, 2007 in Saint Petersburg, on March 24 in Nizhny Novgorod, on April 14 for the second time in Moscow, on April 15 again in Saint Petersburg, on May 18 in Samara, and on May 19 in Chelyabinsk. Some of them were featured in various media outlets.

It was preceded by opposition rallies in Russian cities in December 2005 which involved fewer people.

Most of the protests were unsanctioned. Usually, the authorities of the cities where the march was expected to take place have proposed protesters to meet at some more peripheral place and forbade processions. However, according to Russian legislation, organizers of a march should merely inform the authorities of the upcoming event and do not need a sanction, while the authorities have no right to prohibit a march in the specific places where it has been planned by the opposition, and demonstrators have usually defied the ban (apart from the rally in Saint Petersburg on April 15, 2007).

Since 2009, instead of dissenters marches, Russian opposition has held Strategy-31 rallies, though some of them have been accompanied by attempts of processions.

Marches

Moscow, December 16, 2006

The first march of the series took place in Moscow on December 16, 2006.

Saint Petersburg, March 3, 2007

The first march in Saint Petersburg took place on Saturday, March 3, 2007.

Political context and organization

Taking place a year before the presidential election scheduled on March 2, 2008, the St. Petersburg protest also came ahead of the local elections to the Saint Petersburg Legislative Assembly to be held on March 11, 2007.Police Clash With Anti-Kremlin Protesters
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 3 March 2007. While leaders of Communist party and democratic Union of Right Forces which were going to contest for votes didn't take part in the march (as well as other major parties), the action was joined by St. Petersburg department of social-liberal party Yabloko which had been eliminated from the upcoming local legislative election for technical reasons earlier in February.

The unsanctioned protest rally was organized by The Other Russia, a broad umbrella group that includes both left and right-wing opposition leaders, including National Bolshevik Party with its leader Eduard Limonov, far-left Vanguard of Red Youth, and far-left Labour Russia of Viktor Anpilov, as well as right-wing liberal people such as former world chess champion and United Civil Front leader Garry Kasparov and former Prime Minister of Russia and People Democratic Union leader Mikhail Kasyanov. Sergey Gulyayev, Mikhail Amosov and Natalya Yevdokimova, Democratic faction deputies in the Saint Petersburg Legislative Assembly who represented Yabloko, and Maxim Reznik, leader of the party in Saint Petersburg, took part in the protest, as well as other Saint Petersburg citizens of different ages and political persuasions. Gulyayev was elected chairman of the organizing committee.Thousands Take to City Streets for Protest
by Galina Stolyarova, The St. Petersburg Times, 6 March 2007.

Preventive countermeasures

Governor Valentina Matviyenko, appearing on Channel 5 news bulletins on Friday evening (March 2), warned people not to join those she called extremists. Warnings were broadcast on public address systems in the underground advising people to stay away from the rally.

The police raided apartments of Saint Petersburg opposition activists early on Saturday morning and quite a few were pulled out of trains heading for St. Petersburg from Petrozavodsk and Murmansk.Those Who Disagree Marched in St. Petersburg
by Andrey Kozenko and Mikhail Shevchuk, Kommersant, 5 March 2007.

Number of demonstrators

The rally became one of the biggest demonstrations of the opposition in recent years.

Police stated that 800 participated in the march. According to correspondent of Vedomosti newspaper, there were more than 2,000 participants.ВЕДОМОСТИ - "Это наш город!" - Марш несогласных прошел через кордоны
/ref> Interfax news agency estimated the number of participant between 2,000 and 3,000. Saint Petersburg internet newspaper Fontanka.ru wrote that from 2,000 to 5,000 took part in the march. Newsru reported that the rally collected about 4,000 to 6,000 demonstrators. According to claims by Garry Kasparov the total number was around 6,000 protestors. On the article written at ''Daily Journal'' (ej.ru), Garry Kasparov stated that he believes around 7,000 individuals were taking part in the March, and on Nevsky Prospect, the main avenue of St. Petersburg, around 4,500 marched. Liberal opposition news website Grani.ru alleged that around 8,000–10,000 were participating in the march. The largest number was claimed by the leader of NDSM, Yulia Malysheva, who claimed there were 15,000 participants.

Russian police dispersed the protesters, detaining 113 people. According to police, all of the detainees were released shortly except for two bodyguards of Eduard Limonov, who got 15 days of arrest for "organization of mass disorders". Most of the detainees were convicted and given money penalties.

Course of events

Despite the fact that the organizers had been denied permission for the rally by the city authorities, several thousand people defied the ban, facing about 3,000 police officers and OMON summoned up from St. Petersburg, the Republic of Karelia, Pskov, and Vladimir. They broke through several OMON cordons and marched from the Oktyabrsky Concert Hall down the city's main avenue, Nevsky Prospekt, as far as Gostiny Dvor and the building of the pre-1917 Saint Petersburg City Duma. Dozens of people were beaten by OMON with truncheons. Initially the protesters were going to march from Vosstaniya Square to Smolny, where the Saint Petersburg City Administration resides, but changed their plans on the fly, in direct violation of the law. Automobile traffic was blocked by the police cordons and protesters.

In a speech addressed to the marchers, Kasparov told the crowd, "This is our first real victory. I congratulate you on overcoming your fear. We will have victory when we get our Russia back. We have 364 days before the election in 2008."

After his speech, Kasparov declared the march to be over and stated that everyone should leave. At the same time, Michail Kasyanov left the march on a blue minibus.

People shouted "Russia without Putin!", "Shame!", "Give the elections back!", "This is our city!" and "Out with the corrupt authorities!" as well as slogans against the Gazprom City skyscraper construction project. They called for the dismissal of Governor Matviyenko, a close Putin ally, accusing her of corruption and interference with small businesses in favor of large state-owned corporations.

Tatyana Voltskaya, a journalist working for ''Radio Free Europe'' who witnessed the protest, said, "When I came I saw a very tight police cordon. The police had left only two very narrow corridors for people. I would say that to be inside it was very unsafe because of a possible stampede. Police officers were speaking through megaphones. They urged people to leave the square and not to disturb the public order. It was not possible to hear what they were saying because the crowd was shouting 'Disgrace, disgrace!'"

Resolutions adopted by the March included: demands on federal policy (to allow opposition to participate in elections, reforms of judiciary, trials against corruptioners, restoration of direct gubernatorial elections abolished on Vladimir Putin's initiative in 2005); protests against actions of St. Petersburg Governor (mayor) Valentina Matviyenko and demands to dismiss her; and a block of social claims (such as usage of the stabilization fundbr>
!-- to pay for people's lost Soviet deposits and--> to enhance pensions, or demonopolizing the market of public transportation).Dozens Held in Russia Opposition Rally
by Dmitry Lovetsky, The Washington Post, 3 March 2007.

Sergey Gulyayev, a member of the Saint Petersburg Legislative Assembly, said, "The government is afraid of the slightest disturbance. The government is fragile and scared, and will collapse with one push." Interior Ministry police moved through the protesters, taking Gulyayev's bullhorn, throwing it against a nearby building, and putting Gulyayev into a squad car in a headlock. As they did so protesters chanted, "Shame! Shame!"

Official reaction and media coverage

Valentina Matviyenko called the protesters "guest stars from Moscow" and "youths of extremist persuasion", accusing them of stirring turmoil ahead of the legislative elections, venting their discontent with the city's perceived dynamic development, and receiving financial support from dubious sources, such as imprisoned Mikhail Khodorkovsky and emigrated Boris Berezovsky.

Since February 27, 2007 the official website of Dissenters' March has been DDoS-attacked several times.

According to Garry Kasparov, the major informational resource of the March was the radio station "Echo of St. Petersburg", which informed people in a timely manner on the progress of the march.Echo Moskvy
Full Albats, 4 March
(in Russian)

The march was covered on BBC
...