Unrest

Anti-Putin Protests Rage in Moscow

35,000 form human chain.

Protests continued to rage in Moscow on Sunday, a week before the presidential election, as thousands of anti-Putin protesters gathered along the city’s 10-mile ring road. Police said that 11,000 protesters attended, but there may have been more; some reports say 35,000 people joined hands in a human chain along the road. One businessman who was present said, “We expect for Putin to win, but it will be his last victory. I don’t think he will last out his next term because the situation in the country will develop quickly, and not to his advantage. The country has woken up.” Dissatisfaction with Vladimir Putin is highest in the cities, but he has a lot of support in rural areas, and polls show it would be possible for him to win the presidency without blatant election fraud.