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Dozens detained in Moscow amid illegal rally against new constitutional amendments
Moscow police have detained 132 people taking part in an unauthorized rally against the recently-adopted constitutional amendments. A similar protest was also held in St. Petersburg, Russia’s second-largest city.
About 1,000 people gathered at the Pushkin Square in central Moscow on Wednesday evening, according to Novaya Gazeta estimates.
The protesters were gathering signatures in favor of revoking the constitutional amendments, green-lighted by a nationwide vote earlier this month with solid support of nearly 78 percent. They have already been approved by the legislators as well.
While the gathering was unauthorized, law enforcement did not intervene at first. The police only acted when a group of some 200 protesters tried to stage a march along the Garden Ring, one of the main streets in downtown Moscow, and disrupt traffic there. A total of 132 people have been detained, TASS reported citing the police.
A similar unauthorized event was held at the same time in central St. Petersburg. According to media estimates, the gathering attracted some 1,000 protesters, who were also collecting signatures against the constitution. The St. Petersburg meeting turned out to be less eventful than the one in Moscow, and no arrests have been reported so far.
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