Skip to content or view screen version

Moscow: Police break up "Anti-Capitalism-2009” march

Vperyod | 16.12.2009 10:11 | Social Struggles | Workers' Movements | World

On December 13, despite a ban by the authorities, leftist forces held an "anti-capitalism-2009 march in the centre of Moscow.









Originally, the organizers planned to march along the declared route - along Tverskaya Street from Pushkin Square to Revolution Square. However, in the morning, Pushkin Square was filled with police officers and cordoned off with the riot police buses and "Ural" riottrucks. Therefore, the route of the action was urgently changed.

Note that not all the protesters managed to reach the venue. Thus, the coordinator of the movement of the Left Front Sergei Udaltsov, was being followed from early morning under active surveillance, and was blocked by police near Pushkin Square.

Eventually, at 14.00, about 50 activists of the Left Front and the movement "Forward" (Vperyod) began the unauthorized march along Stoleshnikov Lane, where elitist super-expensive stores are located. The procession lit flares, unfurled the banner "Anti-Capitalism-2009" and chanted "Our modernization - socialism," "Your luxury - poverty of millions," "Capitalism kills!" Also, in the direction of the elite shops were thrown a few pigs' heads, symbolizing " the true face of the authorities.

The march was to culminate in Lubyanka Square, but soon the path of the marchers was blocked the riot police who arrived on the bus a few minutes after the action began. Riot police started the forceful dispersal of the march - 15 people were arrested and the others managed to leave the venue of the rally. On the road to the police station ATS Tverskaya, a few more people were able to jump out of the bus and escape.

Currently, all detainees, including the organisers of the Left Front Alexei Sakhnin, Vasily Kuzmin, Denys Tichotsky and Alexander Voronov are being held at the ATS Tverskaya police station where they are being charged under Article 20.2 (holding an unauthorized rally) and Article 19.3 (disobedience towards the legitimate demands of a police officer) of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation.

During the march, the participants distributed leaflets that demanded a change in the course of development of the country in order to eliminate the strongest social inequality in Russia's society and create conditions for significant growth in the citizens' welfare and development of effective institutions of government. The participants of the "anti-capitalism-2009" march voiced their demand for the resignation of the Government of Russia headed by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and expressed their solidarity support for the demands of Workers’ Trade Unions in Russia. The leaflet, in particular stated the following:

"We declare our implacably hostile attitude towards the capitalist system and to the political regime in Russia. History proves again and again: the bourgeoisie will never act in the interests of workers. That is why working people should take power into their own hands, and only then can be realized this modernization of Russia, which today there is so much talk about by Russia's leaders.

We are seeking:

- Democratic control of citizens over the budget and workers' control over production;

- The nationalization of major corporations and banks;

- Cancellation of sale of land, mineral resources, natural resources;

- Constant wage indexation in accordance with the rate of inflation, increasing the minimum wage in Russia to the level of a real living wage (not less than 10 thousand rubles a month);

- Transition to a progressive system of taxation of income and taxes on luxury;

- Termination of political repression, strict observance of human rights and freedoms by all state bodies of Russia;

- Unconditional and immediate release of all political prisoners."

We recall that on 8 December, the Moscow authorities finally banned the march along Tverskaya Street, and all proposals by the organizers over the choice of an alternative route (Chistoprudny Boulevard, Tverskaya Boulevard and others) were rejected. The only suggestion by the Moscow Mayor's Office was – to transfer the march to the embankment of Taras Shevchenko. However, the proposal did not suit the organizers of the march, as it goes contrary to the Constitution and federal laws.

photos
 http://www.leftfront.ru/48E5438F90F59/4B24FB5D23102.html


For Bolshevism-AUCPB

Vperyod
- Homepage: http://aucpbenglishwebsite.blogspot.com

Comments

Display the following 5 comments

  1. don't act so fast — Mike Perry
  2. Left Front not anti-capitalist — Revolutionary Bolshevik Guard
  3. Left Front not anti-capitalist AT ALL — 7 NOVEMBER
  4. i think the phrase — lenin
  5. The pigs head is good though — Frmr