Russian Officials Set Police-Driving Contest For Same Day As Moscow Protest
Police van drivers will be tested on "maneuvering and avoiding obstacles in city conditions." (file photo)
Russia's Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) has announced a competition among drivers of police vans that it says will take place in Moscow on August 10, around the time of an authorized rally planned by opposition politicians and activists.
Officials had already announced earlier this week at least one other city-sponsored event to coincide with the rally, the third major opposition gathering in the capital since local officials decided in early July to bar dozens of independent candidates from elections to the Moscow City Duma in September.
Thousands were detained during forcible dispersal of protests in Moscow each of the past two Saturdays, and images of police pummeling peaceful demonstrators with batons sparked outrage among rights groups and condemnations from Western governments.
TASS news agency quoted FSIN officials as saying that drivers of police vans -- or avtozaks, as they are known -- from around the country "will perform their skills in maneuvering and avoiding obstacles in city conditions, knowledge of the traffic regulations, as well as shooting skills" during the August 10 competition.
Moscow authorities announced plans earlier in the week to hold a "Meat & Beat" festival on the same day as the protest, much like last weekend when Moscow's mayoral office organized a "Shashlik Fest," with free food and music.
Beatings And Arrests At Latest Moscow Protest
1/14The authorities had warned they would take “all necessary measures” to stop the unauthorized rally. These police officers appeared to take those words to heart, as they detained a man on Pushkinskaya Square in the city center.
Riot police detained hundreds of people during a protest in Moscow against the exclusion of opposition candidates from local elections. The Russian capital has witnessed repeated demonstrations over the issue in recent weeks, with some 1,300 people being detained a week earlier.
2/14Prominent opposition activist Lyubov Sobol was taken away by police as she left her political headquarters. She is on hunger strike, demanding the right to run in local elections, and a key organizer of the current wave of protests.
Riot police detained hundreds of people during a protest in Moscow against the exclusion of opposition candidates from local elections. The Russian capital has witnessed repeated demonstrations over the issue in recent weeks, with some 1,300 people being detained a week earlier.
3/14Ranks of riot police were in place to prevent protesters marching along the Boulevard Ring, which skirts central Moscow.
Riot police detained hundreds of people during a protest in Moscow against the exclusion of opposition candidates from local elections. The Russian capital has witnessed repeated demonstrations over the issue in recent weeks, with some 1,300 people being detained a week earlier.
Riot police detained hundreds of people during a protest in Moscow against the exclusion of opposition candidates from local elections. The Russian capital has witnessed repeated demonstrations over the issue in recent weeks, with some 1,300 people being detained a week earlier.
5/14...but age was no protection from police using force to prevent peaceful protest.
Riot police detained hundreds of people during a protest in Moscow against the exclusion of opposition candidates from local elections. The Russian capital has witnessed repeated demonstrations over the issue in recent weeks, with some 1,300 people being detained a week earlier.
6/14A helicopter flying over a statue of Russian poet Alexander Pushkin, in the square that bears his name.
Riot police detained hundreds of people during a protest in Moscow against the exclusion of opposition candidates from local elections. The Russian capital has witnessed repeated demonstrations over the issue in recent weeks, with some 1,300 people being detained a week earlier.
Riot police detained hundreds of people during a protest in Moscow against the exclusion of opposition candidates from local elections. The Russian capital has witnessed repeated demonstrations over the issue in recent weeks, with some 1,300 people being detained a week earlier.
8/14Police swooped on another demonstrator. RFE/RL's Moscow correspondent Matthew Luxmoore said it felt like a state of emergency had been declared in Moscow.
Riot police detained hundreds of people during a protest in Moscow against the exclusion of opposition candidates from local elections. The Russian capital has witnessed repeated demonstrations over the issue in recent weeks, with some 1,300 people being detained a week earlier.
9/14A protester holds aloft a copy of Russia's constitution, which guarantees freedom of assembly and free speech.
Riot police detained hundreds of people during a protest in Moscow against the exclusion of opposition candidates from local elections. The Russian capital has witnessed repeated demonstrations over the issue in recent weeks, with some 1,300 people being detained a week earlier.
10/14Russia's ongoing crackdown has been condemned by the United States, the European Union, and international human-rights organizations.
Riot police detained hundreds of people during a protest in Moscow against the exclusion of opposition candidates from local elections. The Russian capital has witnessed repeated demonstrations over the issue in recent weeks, with some 1,300 people being detained a week earlier.
Riot police detained hundreds of people during a protest in Moscow against the exclusion of opposition candidates from local elections. The Russian capital has witnessed repeated demonstrations over the issue in recent weeks, with some 1,300 people being detained a week earlier.
12/14Batons ready, members of Russia's National Guard were also on hand to prevent the demonstrators gathering.
Riot police detained hundreds of people during a protest in Moscow against the exclusion of opposition candidates from local elections. The Russian capital has witnessed repeated demonstrations over the issue in recent weeks, with some 1,300 people being detained a week earlier.
Riot police detained hundreds of people during a protest in Moscow against the exclusion of opposition candidates from local elections. The Russian capital has witnessed repeated demonstrations over the issue in recent weeks, with some 1,300 people being detained a week earlier.
Riot police detained hundreds of people during a protest in Moscow against the exclusion of opposition candidates from local elections. The Russian capital has witnessed repeated demonstrations over the issue in recent weeks, with some 1,300 people being detained a week earlier.
Previous slide
Next slide
Meanwhile, opposition activists and politicians have expressed hope that as many as 100,000 people will take part in the rally, the first since the candidates were barred to have been approved by city officials.
"Solidarity" rallies are said to be planned for Yekaterinburg, Krasnodar, and Rostov-on-Don, among other cities.
Of the 30 or so candidates barred from the Moscow poll, five are affiliated with or work for the anti-corruption foundation established by opposition leader Aleksei Navalny. Navalny and all but one of those five allies are now in jail.
Navalny himself is serving a 30-day sentence for violating protest laws.
On August 7, Russia's main election board upheld previous rulings barring the candidates from the September 8 city election.
Some 1,400 demonstrators were detained by police in a violent crackdown at a rally in the Russian capital on July 27, and more than 1,000 more were detained at a rally on August 3.
RFE/RL's Russian Service is a multi-platform alternative to Russian state-controlled media, providing audiences in the Russian Federation with informed and accurate news, analysis, and opinion.
