2007年VOA标准英语-Russian Opposition Demands Right to be Heard
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By Peter FedynskyMoscow
11 June 2007
Russia's fledgling opposition1 held another anti-corruption rally in Moscow Monday. Rally organizers representing the Other Russia coalition3 say a relatively4 small turnout does not mean the opposition lacks popular support, but rather, that it lacks access to television. VOA's Moscow correspondent Peter Fedynsky has more from the Russian capital.
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| Opposition demonstrators on Pushkin Square |
Addressing the crowd, former chess grand champion and now opposition leader Gary Kasparov listed some of the problems that need to be addressed, problems he says, that the country's rulers and bureaucratic6 elites7 are neglecting.
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| Garry Kasparov addresses protesters |
Several speakers and people in the crowd mentioned "chynovnyky," or bureaucratic officials who stand in the way of Russian progress.
Among the demonstrators was Raissa Fedorovna, a retiree and former newspaper vendor11 who says she waged a 10-year struggle against such officials who tried to illegally seize her apartment. In the end, she lost.
Fedorovna says authorities last year presented a counterfeit12 title to take her property. Formal complaints failed because, as she alleges13, the police, prosecution14 and the courts, are on the side of the bureaucrats15.
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| Riot police watching the demonstrators |
Protesters ignored the distraction17, and expressed confidence that the opposition will do well in upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections, despite the fact that few people attended or even knew of the demonstration. Gary Kasparov said access to television is a key to spreading opposition messages.
Two weeks of uncensored television, says Kasparov, is all that is needed to disrupt the regime, because the people will hear the truth about what they now suspect to be a corrupt2 government.
Another opposition leader, Eduard Limonov said a mere18 half hour of television access would be sufficient.
The rally in Moscow was the ninth in recent months held in various Russian cities. About 3,000 demonstrators attended one such protest on Saturday during a major international economic forum19 in Saint Petersburg.
Both rallies ended peacefully. Earlier opposition demonstrations20 were dispersed21 by force, which caused an international public relations problem for the Kremlin.
