Thousands in Russia protest Putin victory

March 6, 2012 at 12:00a.m.

Los Angeles Times

MOSCOW

With police helicopters hovering low over central Moscow and security forces blanketing the streets, at least 20,000 protesters gathered Monday to accuse Vladimir Putin of stealing Russia’s presidential election and demand his immediate resignation.

The Central Election Commission reported that Putin, seeking to regain the presidency after four years as prime minister, won in the first round Sunday with 64.7 percent of the vote. The result puts Putin, who previously served eight years as president, on track to possibly serve two new six-year terms.

Perennial Communist candidate Gennady Zyuganov had 17 percent, and billionaire businessman Mikhail Prokhorov, the owner of the New Jersey Nets NBA team, had 7 percent, the election commission said.

However, both international and Russian observers said they had detected numerous serious irregularities. And the opposition movement that sprouted in response to reports of widespread cheating in parliamentary elections in December said it would step up its protest campaign.

As dusk settled over protesters gathered Monday in Moscow’s Pushkin Square and the temperature plunged well below zero, a popular song blasted out of amplifiers: “My state is a thief, a dirty and cynical thief.” And the opposition rally began with the crowd chanting: “Putin is a thief!”

Prominent opposition leaders pledged to remain in the square, but police moved in and arrested protesters who remained after the rally was over. Officials said 250 people were arrested in Moscow, but it was not clear whether all of them were detained at Pushkin Square.