Pro-Democracy Protesters Beaten and Detained in Russia
March 5, 2007
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According to the Washington Post thousands of protesters rallied on Saturday in central St. Petersburg to protest “Russia’s rollback from democracy,” and were met by police clubbing and detainment.  Of the thousands of protesters it is believed that 20-30 people were detained after being “dragged” into buses during the rally.  The Kremlin had given permission for the protest to take place outside of the city center “but the activists defied the ban and marched down Nevsky Prospekt, St. Petersburg’s main street.” 

Former Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov claims that “the authorities are destroying…the constitutional structure, rights and freedoms.”  The activists at the rally were rising up against this, accusing the government of cracking down on political rights and civil liberties. 

This attack on democratic rights in Russia is reflected in the annual Freedom in the World reports by Freedom House.  In 2004, Russia was listed as “Partly Free” with political rights and civil liberties ratings at 5.  The recently released 2007 study classifies Russia as “Not Free,” with a score of 6 in political rights, and 5 in civil liberties.

References:

Freedom House: Freedom in the World 2004
Freedom House: Freedom in the World 2007
Washington Post: Russian Police Beat Democracy Activists