Russian opposition protests against Putin’s crackdown

Russian opposition groups held an anti-government demonstration in Moscow on Tuesday, despite prosecutors asking some of their leaders to appear for questioning.

The march, which was authorised by city officials, is a protest against a new anti-demonstration law signed by President Vladimir Putin on Friday.

It hikes fines on people who participate in unauthorised protest action.

Left front leader Sergei Udlatsov was one of the four opposition figures called to meet with police.

He said that he refused to cooperate with investigators because he was the official organiser of today’s demonstration and was obliged to attend.

Police raided the homes of the opposition leaders on Monday as part of an investigation into a riot on May 6th, the eve of Putin’s inauguration.

One female protester said that Russia was “stuck in a dead end and that change must come as a matter of urgency.”

“Each day this feeling grows stronger,” she said.

Demonstrators have likened Putin’s crackdown to 1937, the year of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin’s ‘Great Purge’.

Copyright © 2013 euronews