After the elections to the State Duma were held in Russia in early December, in which numerous violations were registered, the opposition held a series of rallies at which all disaffected people could express their protest. The subsequent elections of the President of the Russian Federation confirmed the facts of falsification and became the reason for the intensification of civic activity. The number of dissatisfied people increased so much that the organizers of the protest rallies named them the "March of Millions".
Of course, we are not talking about any millions, even taking into account the protesting cities all over Russia that have joined the capital. But there is a clear trend towards an increase in the number of participants in such protest rallies. The first one took place on May 6. In Moscow, the data on the number of participants, which are represented by the organizers and the forces of law and order, differ several times. The organizers claim that more than 100 thousand people expressed their protest, the Moscow City Department of Internal Affairs calls the figure 20 thousand.
The second "March of Millions" took place on June 12th. By this date, the deputies initiated and hastily adopted amendments to the law on rallies, increasing the punishment for its organizers for damaging municipal property and causing harm to human health during rallies up to astronomical fines of hundreds of thousands of rubles. However, this did not stop tens of thousands of people who came to express their protest against the policy of the authorities.
The "Marches of Millions" gather not only representatives of opposition political parties and protest groups to the government: Yabloko, Union of Right Forces, Democratic Party, Republican Party, Fair Russia, but also ordinary citizens. They are attended by people who adhere to directly opposite political views, nationalists, left-wing radicals, anarchists, etc.
These marches provide an opportunity for representatives of different social groups to speak out. Gay activists use them to show support for the punk group Pussy Riot, which staged a hooligan trick at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. Researchers, teachers and university students are protesting against education reform and the collapse of science.
The demands of the protesters are constantly growing, as well as the number of those who are dissatisfied with the fact that the government is not going to enter into dialogue, but continues to tighten the screws. The organizers of these rallies have outlined the third "March of Millions", which is scheduled to take place on 15 September. Taking into account the forthcoming radical increase in prices, further growth of discontent can be predicted. Therefore, its organizers, the leader of the Left Front, Sergei Udaltsov, Garry Kasparov, Elena Lukyanova, blogger Alexei Navalny, politician Boris Nemtsov, journalist Olga Romanova, leader of the movement "In Defense of the Khimki Forest" Evgenia Chirikova, Sergei Parkhomenko and others hope that such a name will soon will be fully justified.
