The rally of the opposition who disagree with the results of presidential elections, has ended on New Arbat in Moscow.
The attempt at an illegal procession, headed by Sergei Udaltsov near Arbat Square, is a provocation, the press service of the State Ministry of Interior of Russia in Moscow told "Interfax".
"About 60 people, headed by Sergei Udaltsov near Arbat Square, tried to stage a provocation, and to arrange a procession," the press service says.
It stresses that the police, in accordance with the law, are obliged to prevent such acts of provocation, and repudiates Udaltsov’s data on the number of participants.
"That there were thousands of participants, as Udaltsov claims, is out of the question," the press-service affirms.
One of the organizers of Saturday's opposition rally on New Arbat, co-founder of the League of voters, journalist Sergei Parkhomenko, says that the committee has not yet proceeded to a discussion of the date of the next mass rally in Moscow.
"We have not discussed it yet. A new campaign will appear when needed," he added.
"I believe that a sort of a three-month cycle of protests has ended. Undoubtedly there will be new actions, but only when necessary. Nobody is organizing them mechanically," Parkhomenko says.
When asked whether this meant that the opposition will not hold rallies in Moscow in March and April, he replied: "I don’t know, no one has discussed this."
On Saturday at a rally on New Arbat the coordinator of "Left Front" Sergei Udaltsov suggested organizing a million-strong march on May 1 in Moscow.
Secretary of the Presidium of the General Council of the "United Russia" party, State Duma Deputy Speaker Sergei Neverov, expressed surprise at this statement by Udaltsov. "I think such statements are strange," Neverov said. He also drew attention to the fact that political reform is practically already under way in the country, that is, precisely the requirements put forward by the participants of earlier protests are being fulfilled.
According to him, Udaltsov does not care about the future of Russia. "Unfortunately, these people are indifferent to the future of the country," Neverov claimed.
The politician noted that one can, of course, defend one’s position, but it should not be imposed, with demands that your opinion is shared by tens and hundreds of thousands, and now even by a million.
One of the leaders of the "Parnas" party, Vladimir Ryzhkov, claimed at the rally that the date for the new protest demo might be May 7, the day of the inauguration of the President of Russia. In general, Vladimir Ryzhkov was satisfied with how the meeting was held on Novy Arbat. "I am very pleased with the mood of the meeting. The most important thing is that people come out for the sixth time - this is no accident," Ryzhkov told reporters after the rally. "Definitely, there will be new actions. We are now keeping them secret, but soon we will announce them," he added.
The other co-chair of "Parnas", the former Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov, informed "Interfax" that mass opposition rallies will be held in Moscow on May 7 and June 12.
Another representative of the organizing committee of protest rallies, Duma deputy Ilya Ponomarev, tells RIA Novosti he is not going to join the coordinator of "Left Front" Sergei Udaltsov and his supporters, who, after the rally on New Arbat Street are ready to organize the continuation of the action in the way it was on Pushkin Square.
"I'm going to go get warm," Ponomarev said, leaving a rally on New Arbat.
