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Demonstrators rally across Russia to protest vote fraud
Dec 24, 2011, 9:21 GMT
Moscow - Demonstrators rallied in cities across Russia on Saturday to protest vote fraud in a recent parliamentary election.
Organizers said the largest demonstration would begin at 3 pm (1100 GMT) in the capital Moscow, with thousands of participants expected.
Smaller rallies took place in the Far Eastern cities Vladivostok and Khabarovsk; and in the central Siberian cities Baranaul, Tomsk, Chita, Irkutsk and Novosibirsk.
The provincial demonstrations numbered in the hundreds, with temperatures dipping to 30 degrees below zero Centigrade at some locations. Police presence was moderate and the protests were peaceful.
The Saturday demonstrations were a continuation of street protests which came in the wake of a December 4 parliamentary election won by the country's ruling United Russia party.
Government critics alleged United Russia used massive vote fraud to win. An official investigation into the election concluded there were some minor violations but that the overall result was fair.
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