Thousands surge into Moscow to challenge Kremlin

Thousands surge into Moscow to challenge Kremlin

www.bbc.co.uk

Tens of thousands of people have rallied in central Moscow in a show of anger at alleged electoral fraud.

They passed a resolution "not to give a single vote to Vladimir Putin" at next year's presidential election.

Protest leader Alexei Navalny told the crowd to loud applause that Russians would no longer tolerate corruption.

...At least 28,000 people turned out in the capital, according to the Russian interior ministry, but rally organisers said the true number was around 120,000...

(visit the link for the full news article)

Wow. Just wow! This is an event of seismic proportions. Mass protest rallies like this just don't happen in Russia!


[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/files/img/mt4ef5db2d.jpg[/atsimg]


And it's not just in Moscow:

Rallies against ballot-rigging were reported across Russia's time zones on Saturday by Interfax

In the Siberian city of Novosibirsk, a rally of between 800 and 1,500 people passed off peacefully

About 100 people braved a frost of -15C in Orenburg on the border with Kazakhstan

About 500 people rallied in Chelyabinsk in the southern Urals under the slogan "These elections were a farce! We want honest elections"

Several arrests were made at a rally in St Petersburg, Vladimir Putin's home city

(Source: main article)

They are demanding a re-run of the elections. But I can see blood being shed - a lot of it - before anything like a full re-run is even countenanced. Could this be the start of the Second Russian Revolution?





www.bbc.co.uk
(visit the link for the full news article)

reply to post by pause4thought


This should have happened in the US following Bush's non-election in 2000 and non-reelection in 2004. Even if Al Gore/Kerry were the same hacks as Bush was.

Anyway, good for the people of Russia! There was definitely fraud there.

reply to post by Vitchilo


Putin's own youth movement, described as "state-backed vigilantes who stifle dissent" in this main stream article:

100,000 strong reactionary 'army'

will be out in force. And that's before the security forces even get a mention!

Live updates should come in via Russia Today

Putin may find that his policy of pseudo-democracy has actually opened Pandora's Box, and unleashed something the like of which Russia has never seen. The pressure has been building for years...

Anybody remember Edgar Cayce saying "As Russia goes, so shall the world"? In that light this is very, very encouraging

reply to post by Mkoll


If I'm not mistaken he was referring to the Collapse of Communism.
Which is still encouraging.

It'll be interesting to see how this plays out.
Lets hope cooler heads prevail here.

I'm guessing they don't put Fluoride in the water in Russia.
Good for them, they are taking a stand and shouldn't back down. If the majority say that egotistical and testosterone fueled Putin needs to go, then they need to listen to the people.

reply to post by Afterthought


Wait, now people are agreeing that there was fraud, yet when I posted about Hillary Clinton wanting to investigate the Russian elections, people insisted there was no need?
www.abovetopsecret.com...

reply to post by SLAYER69

Lets hope cooler heads prevail here.

I agree with the sentiment, but what happens when two worlds collide? You've got the Kremlin and all the forces at its beck and call on the one side, and tens of thousands (-potentially millions-) of ordinary people experiencing the taste of peaceful protest for the first time in generations. Motivated by a sense of rank injustice.

Russian state TV totted up the votes in the Rostov region to a total of more than 146%. Even with Russia's patchy electoral history that's an impressive tally...

The most likely outcome is surely human suffering, tragedy and — what Russians have always feared most: chaos.

Oddly enough the latter element is Putin's ace card. He will use it to justify all manner of crackdowns. And get a lot of support from the older generation.

reply to post by steppenwolf86

Because Putin is a God to some. He supports Syria and Iran
Here, to prove a point. Let me post some shirtless pics.

reply to post by steppenwolf86


I briefly read the thread and you've got a point there. I think the majority simply think that the US shouldn't be policing every country. Especially if Hillary Clinton is pushing for it.

I think Russia should try to handle their own issues. The US has its own problems and needs to keep its focus at home.

reply to post by SLAYER69


What a hunk! (Swooning emoticon)
Don't forget how efficient he is at slaughtering wild trophy animals.

I think Obama needs to have more bare chest time. Not!

Originally posted by steppenwolf86
reply to post by Afterthought

 

Wait, now people are agreeing that there was fraud, yet when I posted about Hillary Clinton wanting to investigate the Russian elections, people insisted there was no need?
www.abovetopsecret.com...

Your thread was about Clinton wanting to investigate somebody else's business, this thread is about a turn out of Russia's population against their government!

Completely different topic!

Wait, now people are agreeing that there was fraud, yet when I posted about Hillary Clinton wanting to investigate the Russian elections, people insisted there was no need?
www.abovetopsecret.com...

Your thread was about Clinton wanting to investigate somebody else's business, this thread is about a turn out of Russia's population against their government!

Completely different topic!

I can't stand Hillary but she and the Protestants have common ground here.

Nice try though.

reply to post by pause4thought


Watch the U.S. Gov't tsk tsk them when they start beating the crap out of the protesters.

No tsk tsking the thugs in blue with the pepper spray and the tasers here in the good old U.S. though.

Anywhere but here.

Just to throw a wild card in there: guess who's had his eye on the Russian presidency for years?


[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/files/img/vr4ef5f2b8.jpg[/atsimg]


That's right. Your friendly neighborhood moustache-man: Aleksander Lukashenko, President of Belarus! The older generation might just be persuaded to consider him should the entire current order be removed (-though that's admittedly a long-shot).

But the fact is optimism doesn't sit comfortably when it comes to current events in Russia. History shows you that again and again and again.

Originally posted by TheEnlightenedOne

Originally posted by steppenwolf86
reply to post by Afterthought

 

Wait, now people are agreeing that there was fraud, yet when I posted about Hillary Clinton wanting to investigate the Russian elections, people insisted there was no need?
www.abovetopsecret.com...

Your thread was about Clinton wanting to investigate somebody else's business, this thread is about a turn out of Russia's population against their government!

Completely different topic!

Right, the fact that the US Dept of State was interested in investigating alleged corruption in a Russian election that has now resulted in large scale protests, these two things are not at all related. Come on.

I was merely pointing out that when the US Government questioned the results of the election, people were against it, but once a protest begins, people get all excited and pat them on the back. ATS has a soft spot for protests.

reply to post by steppenwolf86


I would be mad if a foreign country wanted to investigate our elections as well

I've just come across a news report / vid (from a couple of days ago) that touches on just about everything being said here:

Medvedev urges bold political reforms

It will be interesting to see how the Russian Gov handles this.
If the protests get any bigger, we will get to see Russia's true colors.
(Have they really changed from the Soviet Union?)
Still, if this had happened 30 years ago, all of those protesters would of been shot.

Very interesting to watch!