The Russian opposition showed his teeth in Moscow | More …

More than 20,000 people, including Russian opposition figures, demonstrated today in the center of Moscow to demand free and fair local elections, shouting "Russia will be free" and "C & Is our city ". Opposition to the Kremlin and anti-corruption blogger Alexei Navalni, present in the concentration with his allies, was more than satisfied with the show of force. "It's arguably the biggest opposition meeting in recent years," he said.

According to the NGO White Counter, specializing in the calculation of protesters, at least 21,500 people were mobilized during this authorized event. The opposition had called the rally after the authorities had invalidated the registration of about sixty candidates in the elections to the Moscow city parliament, an election scheduled for September. "Shame!", "It's our city!", Launched protesters surrounded by police on a long avenue downtown.

In a speech in front of the crowd, Navalni, 43, called on authorities to register all candidates by next Saturday. Otherwise, he promised a new big demonstration in front of the town hall. The lawyer Liubov Sobol, 31, excluded from the elections and close to Navalni, said she was convinced of the victory. "We will not give up!", He shouted. Similarly, the opposition Dmitry Gudkov accused the authorities of stealing voters' votes and their future. "We live for 20 years in an occupied country," said the former deputy.

In recent months, several candidates for power have lost in regional elections to the benefit of communists and nationalists, while the party in power, United Russia, President Vladimir Putin, has recorded its worst results in a decade. At the same time. After a verification procedure, the Moscow Electoral Commission on Wednesday Wednesday excluded 57 candidates, mostly opponents, due to a defect of form or irregularities that they denounce as a montage. The Kremlin has rejected opponents' complaints, but many Russians remain furious against what they consider to be electoral interference.

The Muscovites are expected to vote in the regional and local elections on September 8 to renew the five-year term of the 45 deputies of the local parliament, to validate the decisions of Mayor Sergey Sobyanin of United Russia. According to him, to participate, the candidates had to gather the signatures of at least three percent of their potential voters in each of Moscow's 45 districts. But opposition candidates were outraged by the opaque verification procedure which, in their view, favored candidates loyal to power.