Watch: Protesters call for free elections at Moscow demonstration

Watch: Protesters call for free elections at Moscow demonstration
Copyright 
By Galina PolonskayaLauren Chadwick
Share this articleComments
Share this articleClose Button
Copy/paste the article video embed link below:Copy to clipboardCopied

Euronews correspondent Galina Polonskaya takes us to the heart of a demonstration in Moscow today calling for free elections.

ADVERTISEMENT

Protesters gathered outside Moscow's city council building on Saturday to protest authorities' alleged refusal to let several opposition candidates run for local office in September.

Watch Euronews' Galina Polonskaya report from outside Moscow's city council building in the video player, above.

Just outside the building, one man stood alone shouting "for free elections", but he was soon surrounded by dozens of protesters who all chanted together.

Cars honked as protesters yelled and marched. Protesters used foul language to describe Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"We just want our candidates to be registered, those candidates who got their signatures," one protester told Euronews.

Opposition candidates who were not authorised to take part in local elections asked people to protest. Many of those candidates had their homes or headquarters searched ahead of the protest.

The authorities said the candidates did not have enough valid signatures.

Police surrounded the protesters on Saturday and tried to block them from gathering. Throughout the day, police detained hundreds of protesters.

Read more: Hundreds of people detained ahead of and during Moscow opposition protest

Share this articleComments

You might also like

The chilling inaction on domestic violence in Russia is endangering women’s lives ǀ View

Russian police raid opposition activists' homes ahead of Moscow election rally

More than 100,000 evacuated after flooding hits Russia and Kazakhstan