ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (Reuters) - Riot police wielding batons beat, kicked and chased anti-Kremlin protesters through the heart of St. Petersburg on Sunday, a day after Russian authorities snuffed out a similar rally in Moscow.
The use of force used by riot police and the detention of hundreds of activists have drawn criticism from the West.
Sunday's violence began when about 500 demonstrators calling for the resignation of President Vladimir Putin moved towards a metro station after an officially permitted protest ended.
Police wearing crash helmets and armed with full-length metal shields and rubber truncheons moved into the crowd, a mixture of people from students to old women.
Police arrested some protesters, pushed others to the ground where they kicked and hit them with their batons and some chased individuals through the streets.
"Stop the beating," demonstrators shouted at the police. "Fascists. How much did Putin pay you?"
The police herded about 150 protesters into police vans, and continued to hit some of them with batons inside. The city authorities had allowed the protesters to hold a meeting, but had banned the march.
Opponents of Putin, acting under the umbrella organization Other Russia, planned two rallies over the weekend. Authorities banned the main rally on Saturday in Moscow and detained several hundred protesters there, including former world chess champion Garry Kasparov.
Kasparov said the recent heavy-handed policing showed the authorities contempt for democracy.
"The last two days show that Putin's regime doesn't pay any attention to legalities, it relies just upon brute force," he told CNN International.
Other Russia brings together Kremlin opponents from across the political spectrum, from liberals to communists. They say Putin has trampled on democratic freedoms and they demand a free and fair presidential election in 2008.
DETENTIONS
But Other Russia has only marginal influence as the vast majority of Russians support Putin, whose seven years in power have been marked by huge oil and commodity wealth and the return of national pride after the chaotic post-Soviet 1990s.
Sunday's rally in St. Petersburg attracted about 3,000 people. The mobile phone network had been blocked and police trucks mounted with water cannon were parked in side streets.
"Freedom!" the protesters shouted. "Putin is the enemy of the people."
The leader of the left-wing National Bolshevik party, Eduard Limonov addressed the crowd: "Our demand is the resignation of the government and the president and free and fair elections this year and next."
Police later detained him at a St. Petersburg apartment.
Earlier police detained dozens of protesters heading towards the rally, organizers said.
"Police detained me as soon as I left my house this morning," rally organizer Olga Kurnosova, leader of Kasparov's political party in St. Petersburg, told Reuters by telephone from police custody.
In March riot police used batons to break up a march by Putin opponents who blocked one of St. Petersburg's main roads.
Re: Police beat anti-Putin protesters in St. Petersburg
This is fairly disturbing for many reasons, but the main reason is that it shows how far Moscow has strayed from democracy and freedom of expression. The transition from Communism to democracy and capitalism happened way too fast in Russia. I think the old Communists never stopped being old Communists.
"Imagination was given to man to compensate him for what he is not, and a sense of humor was provided to console him for what he is."
Re: Police beat anti-Putin protesters in St. Petersburg
Seems the protesters were beaten because they marched, which was something they were not permitted to do. Not justifying the beating or anything, just saying.
Still, I'm never asking a Russian police officer for directions. He'll break my legs if I make a wrong turn.
Re: Police beat anti-Putin protesters in St. Petersburg
format_quote Originally Posted by Muezzin
Seems the protesters were beaten because they marched, which was something they were not permitted to do. Not justifying the beating or anything, just saying.
Still, I'm never asking a Russian police officer for directions. He'll break my legs if I make a wrong turn.
My G-d! Beaten because they wished to excersise their right to freedom of speech and freedom of assembly! What has this world come to? The likes of what Russia has done could only be seen in Middle Eastern countries. It seems they have learned a bit from Iran and Hamas.
Studying Torah outweighs interfaith dialogue, so I will not be on except once and a while to answer Questions in the Judaism Q/A thread: HERE.
The fear of the L-rd is a spring of life, to turn away from the snares of death. (Mishlei 14:27)
Re: Police beat anti-Putin protesters in St. Petersburg
format_quote Originally Posted by rebelishaulman
My G-d! Beaten because they wished to excersise their right to freedom of speech and freedom of assembly! What has this world come to? The likes of what Russia has done could only be seen in Middle Eastern countries. It seems they have learned a bit from Iran and Hamas.
Nope, The Russian hierarchy has had this down pat for many generations. The name may have changed several times jumping from Czarist to Marxist to Communist to Democracy, but the basic government has been the same since Ivan the Terrible if not longer.
It has been many Hundreds of years since there was last freedom of speech in Russia. True there have been occasional short-lived dissenters. But, the State has always pulled freedom from the people.
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