Rallies in Moscow gather 200 thousand in temperatures of -20 C

Political rallies have ended in Moscow. All in all, about 200 thousand
 people took part in the rallies.

According to the Moscow police, the number of participants in all the
rallies was over 160 thousand people. The Moscow law-enforcement bodies
have also reported that the pro-Putin rally on Poklannaya Hill gathered
from 125 to 128 thousand people. According to the Moscow police, the
opposition rally for "Fair Elections" which took place on Bolotnaya Square
gathered from 33 to 34 thousand people. The organizers of the rally
reported about 120 thousand participants.

VK correspondents report that the strong cold forced the organizers of the
rally to be brief in their speeches.

The Poklonnaya Hill rally in support of Putin was opened by the head of the
historical club "The Essence of Time", political scientist Sergey
Kurginyan. TV presenter Maxim Shevchenko also took part in the rally and
blamed the participants of the Bolotnaya Square rally of being unpatriotic.

The opposition march started on Kaluzhskaya Square and proceeded via
Yakimanka Street up to Bolotnaya Square. The participants of the rally called
for the immediate release of all political prisoners, repeal of the results of the elections, the
resignation of CEC head Churov, investigation into his services, punishment of those
guilty, registration of independent parties and re-elections to the
parliament.

The rally on Bolotnaya Square ended with a performance by Yury Shevchuk,
an opposition musician. After the performance of Shevchuk, participants of
the rally released white balloons. White is the proclaimed color of the
opposition.

The next meeting is scheduled for February 26.