MOSCOW // Hundreds of Moscow drivers flying white balloons and ribbons circled the Kremlin yesterday in noisy protest against prime minister Vladimir Putin's likely return as president in March 4 polls.
The second such auto rally in three weeks was expected to be duplicated in other cities as the opposition sought to keep up momentum after launching in December the biggest wave of anti-Putin rallies in his 12-year rule.
"The closer we manage to get to the Kremlin, the more effective this event will be," the protest movement's League of Voters said in a statement.
Nearly 3,500 people had signed up for the event on its Facebook page by the time the afternoon event started in Moscow.
An AFP reporter saw dozens of cheering pedestrians flashing victory signs to cars circling along the 16-kilometre Garden Ring Road with everything from white flags to plastic bags tied to their handles and antennas.
"Volodya, It's Time to Go," said a sign on one Moscow car with a young couple in the front seat, using the diminutive of Vladimir.
But some witnesses reported seeing cars emblazoned with small portraits of Putin getting into the stream of traffic and then stopping their vehicles in an apparent bid to interrupt the procession.
A similar rally's organiser in the Volga River city of Nizhny Novgorod told Moscow Echo radio that he was wrestled to the ground and beaten up by an unknown assailant moments after leaving his house for the event.
Russia has witnessed a month of weekly rival rallies between Putin foes and his state-backed supporters in advance of elections that the 59-year-old former KGB spy is almost certain to win.
A poll of likely voters conducted by the Kremlin-linked Public Opinion Foundation showed Mr Putin reclaiming the seat he held from 2000 to 2008 with 60 per cent support.
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5