Pro-Putin rally draws tens of thousands in Moscow

Feb 23, 2012, 10:49 GMT

Moscow - 'Let's Protect Russia' was the rallying cry as tens of thousands of Russians gathered in Moscow Thursday to support the Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's bid to return to the presidency.

Despite freezing temperatures, the crowd - which consisted of many party officials and workers from government offices - gathered in Moscow's Lushniki Stadium to express their support for Putin, whose candidacy has sparked several massive demonstrations against him.

'Victory will be ours,' called Putin from a stage. He also warned the West about interfering with internal Russian politics.

'We have our own will. That is what has led us to victory in the past,' he said.

'We are a nation of victors, it's in our genes,' he said, calling the crowd to unite in victory. He called for a battle against injustice and against immorality and arrogance of government officials.

The 59-year-old is expected to win the March 4 election, allowing him to reclaim the job he held from 2000 to 2008. But many observers question whether the vote will be fair.

Vote rigging in December's parliamentary elections played a key role in sparking the ongoing anti-Putin protests.

But Thursday's rally showed there was still some support for Putin, many of them waving pro-Putin banners. Police estimated the crowd at 130,000. Some 30,000 people had participated in a demonstration march before the rally.

Kasparov.ru, a website that is critical of the Russian regime, reported that many of the people who turned out Thursday only did so under threat of seeing their wages slashed if they did not attend. Many attendees were brought to Moscow on buses and trains.

There were also at least four other demonstrations in Moscow supporting candidates other than Putin.

Official opposition candidates have been blocked from competing in March's election and members of those parties opted not to have an official demonstration Thursday, which marks the Defender of the Fatherland holiday in Russia.