Opposition and rights activists in the Russian Federation try to hold protests in each month that includes 31 days to call attention to Article 31 of Russia’s Constitution, which guarantees freedom of assembly.
Some 400 opposition supporters gathered at an unsanctioned rally in Moscow on August 31. Police arrested 70 people, including opposition leaders Boris Nemtsov (left), Ilya Yashin, Eduard Limonov, and Sergei Udaltsov.
Around 200 police from Russia’s special forces, in full riot gear, lined Moscow’s Triumph Square, where the protest was scheduled to take place. Protesters held big cardboard "31" signs and screamed slogans "Russia Without Putin!" "This Is Our City!" and "Down With The KGB." Though many protesters were arrested, observers say Russian police behaved relatively calmly. Four EU lawmakers visiting the Russian Federation earlier attended an opposition rally in central Moscow and criticized police for arresting its organizers.
In St. Petersburg, around 800 people gathered in the center of the city, more than had gathered during the July protest at which some protesters were severely beaten by police. In the small city of Barnaul in western Siberia, protesters shouted the slogan "I Choose Freedom!" and demanded the government better regulate companies providing housing and community services. Authorities routinely deny permission for the demonstrations — permission the activists say they do not need — and police break up the protests before they can begin, often by dragging protesters away.
