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ArcticFox

(1,249 posts)
Thu May 10, 2012, 01:42 AM May 2012

Protesters in Moscow Try New Tactics to Avoid Arrests

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Since Sunday, the day before the inauguration, when the authorities broke up a permitted protest for still unclear reasons, the police have arrested at least 600 activists in Moscow, including protest leaders on multiple occasions for several hours. On Wednesday, a court sentenced Mr. Navalny and another protest leader, Sergei Udaltsov, to 15 days in jail for disobeying a police order.
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Two days later, amid throngs of tourists eating ice cream and posing for pictures outside the Kremlin gates, a group of mostly young people wearing white ribbons and carrying flowers suddenly broke into song. First it was a perestroika-era protest tune and then a World War II-era army song in honor of the anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany.
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Riot police officers in black helmets, jackboots and flak jackets moved in almost immediately, joined by a uniformed police officer with a megaphone, who began repeating in a steady monotone: "Dear citizens, your action is illegal. Disperse immediately."
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http://mobile.nytimes.com/article?a=948613&f=20

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