Russians Rally Against Plan To Raise Retirement Age

Rallies organized by the Communist Party were held across Russia on September 22 to protest unpopular pension-reform proposals. In July, Russia's parliament gave preliminary backing to a government plan to raise the retirement age to 63 for women by 2034 and to 65 for men by 2028. Tens of thousands have rallied against the proposed reforms in recent weeks, and the popularity of Russian President Vladimir Putin has noticeably decreased in opinion polls.