Ten of thousands gathered in downtown Moscow on the Russia Day, June 12, for a mass anti-Kremlin March of Millions. This is the first opposition rally to be held since legislation on rallies was radically tightened by the government.

      The action was approved by Moscow authorities for up to 50,000 participants. City police said 18,000 showed up for the rally as of 2 p.m. Organizers and opposition media put the figure at between 25,000 and 100,000.

      The action was held without any incidents, nobody was injured or arrested. Similar rallies were also held in some other cities across Russia. 

      The march started at the Pushkinskaya square and ended at the Akademika Sakharova avenue with an official meeting, a manifesto's declamation and the concert afterwards.

      This time the opposition advanced several demands dedicated to Russian political life. In particular, the presidential time in office should be limited to either one six-year term or to two four-year terms. The parliament should be re-elected and a newly-elected parliament should work out a project for new Russia’s Constitution, which would significantly limit presidential powers, giving more authority to MPs in terms of forming the government and holding parliamentary investigations.

      Speakers at the event included leftist leaders Sergei Udaltsov and Dmitry Gudkov, liberal politician Boris Nemtsov and opposition-minded writer Dmitry Bykov.

      Sergey Udaltsov offered to hold another opposition rally on October, 7 2012 - on the day of Vladimir Putin's 60th anniversary. Meanwhile, the opposition should continue permanent protests in the streets of Moscow, where activists attempted to set up camps in recent weeks, Udaltsov said. 

Sources: Gazeta.ru RT RIA novosti Image: neva24.ru