Key facts
- Police detained about 60 people at a rally in Moscow on Sunday.
- The rally was held by Russia's Kremlin-friendly Communist Party.
- Detentions occurred as the rally was ending.
- Most of those detained were young people.
- The rally marked the anniversary of the Kremlin's 1993 crushing of a parliamentary uprising.
- Protesters chanted slogans including "Freedom for political prisoners," "For fair elections," and "Down with the Tsar."
Police in Moscow detained approximately 60 people at a rally on Sunday held by Russia's Kremlin-friendly Communist Party, the party said. The detentions occurred as the rally was concluding, and the party's Moscow branch is working to secure the release of those detained, who were mostly young people.
The rally marked the anniversary of the Kremlin's 1993 suppression of a parliamentary uprising. Protesters chanted slogans including "Freedom for political prisoners," "For fair elections," and "Down with the Tsar," according to the Telegram news channel Ostorozhno Novosti.
The rally took place amid simmering public frustration in Russia due to intensifying Ukrainian drone attacks on the country, which have targeted oil refineries and warehouses, leading to fuel shortages and disruptions. The 1993 violence concluded a standoff between then-President Boris Yeltsin and hard-line lawmakers who opposed his free-market reforms. Yeltsin ordered parliament disbanded, and the military shelled the parliament building with tanks, resulting in 123 deaths according to authorities, though unofficial estimates suggest hundreds were killed.
The Communist Party has been a significant parliamentary force since the 1990s, led for over three decades by Gennady Zyuganov. While they have criticized some government policies during Vladimir Putin's rule, they have consistently avoided direct criticism of him and steadfastly support the war in Ukraine.