USA TODAY / AP: … Russians angered by allegedly fraudulent parliamentary elections and the country’s ruling party took part in protests Saturday in cities from the freezing Pacific Coast to the southwest, eight time zones away — a striking show of indignation that poses a challenge to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s hold on power…
The protesters are both angered by reports of flagrant vote fraud in the Dec. 4 election and energized by the sense that the elections showed Putin and his United Russia party to be newly vulnerable. The party held an overwhelming two-thirds of the seats in the previous parliament, but its share plunged by about 20 percent in the recent vote…
Officials in many cities, including Moscow, gave permission for the protests, an unusual largesse in a country where opposition rallies are frequently banned or limited to small attendance. … (more)
EDITOR: Might this lead to a ‘Russian spring’? Will there be a real challenger to Vladimir Putin for the presidency?
